9.1% Hike in UC Student Fees Sought

Students attending the University of California next year would face a 9.1% hike in fees under a proposal recommended Thursday by the UC Board of Regents’ committee on finance.

The increase, which is expected to be approved today by the full board, would be the first hike in student fees in three years.

Although the board has recommended similar increases over the last two years, it has later rescinded its actions when the governor and Legislature provided budgetary funds to offset the need for the fee hikes.

The proposed hike, effective in the fall of 1987, would bring the average annual student fee at UC’s nine campuses to $1,375. That would be an increase of $113 for undergraduates and $54 for graduate students. Additional miscellaneous fees typically average about $98 a year.

Non-Resident Students

For out-of-state students, the committee recommended only a 5% hike, bringing non-residents’ charges to $5,665, plus some miscellaneous fees.

The justification for not raising out-of-state fees as much as in-state fees is that the university’s out-of-state tuition has risen rapidly in recent years--27% since 1983. As a result, UC has become less competitive with other comparable state universities, UC officials said.

Officials indicated it was too early in the budgetary process to know just how Sacramento policy makers might react to the plan for a fee hike. However, Gov. George Deukmejian, who is an ex-officio member of the UC board, was scheduled to attend today’s meeting. How the governor votes on the plan may give some indication of its ultimate fate, UC officials said.

Faculty Pay Hike

In a separate action, the board also gave tentative approval to a 5.7% faculty salary hike in the 1987-88 academic year.

The increase would bring the average faculty salary at UC to $57,200, compared to $55,319 now estimated to be the average at other similar public and private universities throughout the country.

Because the cost of living in many urban areas of California, particularly around Los Angeles and San Francisco, is so much higher than that in most other parts of the country, UC needs to maintain somewhat higher salaries if it is to remain competitive with other major research universities, university officials said.