UCs Hold Tuition Steady for 2019-20
The University of California Regents approved holding the line on tuition fees for 2019-20, or $12,570 per year, for California-resident undergraduates. UC President Janet Napolitano said on March 6 that she expected a “strong partnership with the governor and the legislature” to add the resources needed to fill in rising costs and growing enrollment. The announcement states this is the seventh year out of eight that tuition has remained the same for residents. (It rose $978 last year for non-residents.) Governor Gavin Newsom added $240 million to UC funding, and another $138 million in one-time monies to cover deferred maintenance, in his draft budget proposal in January; the UC’s budget was $9.3 billion in 2018-19.
The UC system, 10 campuses that stretch from Davis to San Diego plus five medical centers and three national laboratories, covers tuition and fees for students whose family incomes are $80,000 or less, according to the tuition announcement. About 57 percent of undergraduates pay no tuition and another 20 percent receive financial aid. In recent years, the schools have put programs in place to work toward all students graduating with a degree, especially those that support California industry; recruit a diverse and accomplished faculty; reduce food insecurity; and expand affordable student housing.
