The University of California Board of Regents this morning approved an 8 percent undergraduate tuition hike for the 2011-12 academic year.
The vote came a day after 13 people were arrested during rowdy demonstrations against the increase at UC San Francisco’s Mission Bay campus, where the regents are meeting this week.
Although the protesters were absent today, several people spoke against tuition hikes during the meeting this morning, saying the 8 percent increase is unfair.
The University of California system has seen a 32 percent increase in undergraduate tuition since the 2009 academic year.
“The damage of a 32 percent hike is like a deep gash cutting through the student body,” a UC Berkeley student said during public comment today.
The 8 percent increase, which takes effect in the fall of 2011, means undergraduate tuition will increase by $822, to $11,124 per year.
The board also approved a proposal by UC President Mark Yudof to provide grants for undergraduates with household incomes of less than $120,000 to cover the fee hike for one year.
The increase didn’t receive unanimous praise from regents, however.
“The time I’ve been on the board, if we enact this increase, fees will have increased 50 percent. Shame on us,” Regent Eddie Island said.
“What we are doing is accelerating the velocity toward the destruction of something that we all hold dear,” he said.
Saul Sugarman, Bay City News
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