Features

The University of California may be getting a different type of diversity next year—part of a drive to find new revenue sources. 

At Wednesday’s Board of Regents meeting, UC President Richard Atkinson proposed hiking out-of-state tuition fees and expanding enrollment of out-of-state students to help pay the costs of California students whose education is subsidized by taxpayers. 

Atkinson’s idea was one of many proposed to deal with $484 million in state funding cuts that have wiped out UC’s funding for in-state enrollment growth next year. 

If approved, Atkinson’s proposal would put UC in line with other prestigious state university systems like those of Virginia and Michigan, which seek high out-of-state enrollment and charge those students “private school” fees. 

According to Peterson’s College Guide, last year 11 percent of UC Berkeley undergraduate students were from outside California.  

With recent fee hikes, they now pay around $19,000 in annual fees, nearly quadruple what California residents pay. 

In contrast, out-of-state students at the University of Virginia last year paid $25,000 including room and board and comprised 28 percent of the student body, according to Peterson’s. 

Other proposals to plug the state funding gap included cutting enrollment, freezing faculty pay, restricting community college transfers, laying off staff and raising student fees by $1,800—on top of a roughly $1,000 fee hike for resident undergraduates implemented this year. 

The Regents considered the proposals Wednesday, but aren’t scheduled to take action until January. 

Anu Joshi, executive vice president for the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC), said Atkinson’s idea had promise. 

“I think [the ASUC] would support it if it keeps state prices low,” she said. 

Joshi said most of the regents were in agreement with students that ultimately lawmakers in Sacramento needed to stop targeting UC. 

“The truth is no matter the proposal we need to convince the legislature to give us funds,” she said. “Not a single person said we shouldn’t use our power to lobby the legislature.”