UC Regents Delay Tuition Hike Vote

UC President Janet Napolitano recomends the vote be deferred. Screencapture from the livestream.

The UC Board of Regents unanimously voted today to defer any vote for an in-state tuition hike to May and any vote for an out of state tuition hike to March or May, at the recommendation of UC President Janet Napolitano.

“After speaking with some of our legislators and speaking with some of our students, I think the board would be better advised to defer the voting on this item until the May meeting,” Napolitano said. “We should accept the invasion of the students who were here this morning to fight together for funding for the University of California.”

The current tuition proposal will hike the in-state total cost 2.7 percent to $12,972 and the out-of-state total cost 3.5 percent to $28,992 starting Fall 2018.

“I encourage you to reject outright the current proposal to increase student tuition,” Governor Jerry Brown wrote in a letter to the UC Board of Regents earlier today. “More work is needed now to reduce the university’s costs to ensure that students and families have access to an affordable, quality education.”

Caroline Siegel-Singh, Sixth College Senator and UC Student Association Financial Aid Advocacy Officer, said that the outcome of today’s vote is due to the efforts of the UC students.

“Today’s vote was going to be a tuition increase until students made their voices heard,” said Singh. “The decision made today by Governor Brown to release a letter, and the decision by Janet Napolitano to delay the vote until May are the result of students direct action. We look forward to negotiating with the state in the coming weeks to Fund the UC and permanently prevent this tuition hike.”

Gabe Schneider is the News Editor at The Triton. You can follow him on Twitter @gabemschneider