UC considers 7% tuition hike amid budget cuts

The UC tuition increase is once again under discussion, as the University of California Board of Regents considers raising the annual cap from 5% to 7%. The proposal also includes reducing the share of tuition revenue allocated to financial aid from 45% to 35%. These measures come in response to reduced federal subsidies under the Trump administration, California’s tight state budget, and continued inflation.

In addition to adjusting tuition based on inflation, the board is weighing the possibility of adding annual increases regardless of cost-of-living changes. The proposals have drawn strong backlash from students and parents, who argue that the rising costs are not matched by improvements in educational quality.

During a public comment session on July 11, Lucia Hermoso, a student at UC Santa Barbara, criticized the plan. “We’re in the same classrooms, yet every student pays a different amount,” she said, calling the system unfair and blaming it for shifting the burden of structural deficits onto students.

UC’s current tuition stability plan, implemented in 2021, locks in tuition rates for six years based on a student’s year of entry. For example, students who enrolled in 2022 pay $13,104 annually for the duration of their studies. Those who entered in 2023 or later are subject to adjusted rates based on inflation. The plan is set to expire at the end of the fall 2026 term.

The Board of Regents has begun reviewing the plan’s future and is expected to make a final decision in November.

As of the current fall term, California residents attending UC campuses pay an average annual tuition of $14,934, while nonresidents, including out-of-state and international students, pay $50,328.

At UCLA, the total annual cost for in-state students—including tuition, housing, meals, and health insurance—reaches $43,137. With discussions of the UC tuition increase gaining momentum, broader debates about the mission and accessibility of public higher education are intensifying across the academic community.

BY BRIAN CHOI  [ichoi@koreadaily.com]