CALIFORNIA—The University Of California’s Board Of Regents organized a two day meeting in San Francisco to discuss a potential tuition hike. The proposed tuition hike is 2.5 percent for fall of 2016-2017 and can go up to 5 percent by 2019, if implemented.
The proposed hike has been received with state wide student protests, including a main staging at the UC Berkeley Campus. Students occupied Wheeler’s Hall on campus, where they staged a walkout.
According to live Twitter estimates, the number of protesters totaled anywhere between 300 to 1200 people. The mass protest at Berkeley campus led to protests at other UC campuses, including the universities of Irvine and San Diego.
University of California officials reported an insufficient amount of financial resources required to keep up with the rising number of student admissions, pay increases and retirement costs. In order to retain the quality education provided by the university, a tuition hike has become necessary, officials said.
UC President Janet Napolitano proposed the hike after Governor Jerry Brown introduced his plan to phase out California’s only scholarship program for middle class students, in his 2017-2018 budget proposal for higher education.