Cheshire Cat Photo Blog(...said the Cat: 'we're all mad here....')

The University of California (UC) Board of Regents will consider ANOTHER tuition increase for the fall, almost 10% this time, ON TOP OF the 8% that has already been approved. Budget-pressed UC administrators (and depressed, repressed, oppressed, and suppressed UC STUDENTS) are all dealing with new financial realities. If the Regents approve the latest proposal, undergraduate tuition will rise to more than $12,200, NOT including room, board, and other campus-based fees. That is an increase of about $1,920 over the tuition THIS year! Darn, I am glad that my kids are through with school, although I think that we are not quite through PAYING for it.

All in all, it looks like a continuation of the trend to price a college degree OUT of the reach of the group of people who used to be called “middle class” in the U.S.

The 9.6% tuition increase is intended to make up for the $150-million reduction in funding in the state budget that was passed last week. See, I TOLD you how it would be “remedied.” Keep pushing costs down onto the group that can afford them least and that cannot fight back. LA Times says:

“The previous 8% tuition increase, along with a package of other spending cuts and austerity measures, was aimed at addressing a previously announced $500-million cut in state support for the UC system, according to Patrick Lenz, UC’s vice president for budget and capital resources.”

Not to be left behind in the “Unaffordability Race,” the Cal State system is ALSO likely to approve a 10-15% tuition increase. Now remember, that doesn’t include room, board, and fees! (I was a student for a long time. Do you want to see my scars? ) UC Regents meet July 12-14 in San Francisco (might as well meet in an EXPENSIVE town with good FOOD – the Regent’s job pays pretty well! )., and the Cal State trustees will meet on July 12 in Long Beach (see above! ). Ever wonder why the Cal State Trustees can do it in ONE day, but it takes the UC Board of Regents THREE? I don’t!

“We reported to the regents in May that if we were to receive additional cuts beyond $500 million, we would have to offset those cuts with a dollar-for-dollar tuition increase,” Lenz said in a prepared statement. “Our campuses and the UC Office of the President already have cut to the bone — implementing administrative efficiencies, furloughing and laying off employees, consolidating and eliminating programs, increasing class sizes, delaying faculty hires, reducing services and delaying purchases, among other actions.” He promised that additional financial aid would be made available to needy students across the 10-campus UC system.

I always wonder whether “implementing administrative efficiencies” ever involves PAY cuts for the highest paid administrators. Don’t you?

UC, on a roll, has raised tuition in nine of the last 10 years.

Remember that the last $4 billion gap in the budget was resolved by “cockeyed optimism?” If the rosy revenue forecast for California doesn’t happen, the clouds could get even darker for students.

Hey, you don’t expect the people who CAUSED the financial problems in California to PAY for them, do you?

-Bill at

Cheshire Cat Photo™ – “Your Guide to California’s Wonderland™”

You can view higher-resolution photos at the Cheshire Cat Photo™ Pro Gallery on Shutterfly™, where you can also order prints and gifts decorated with the photos of your choice from the gallery. The Cheshire Cat Photo Store on Zazzle® contains a wide variety of apparel and gifts decorated with our images of California. All locations are accessible from here. Be a “Facebook Fan” of Cheshire Cat Photo here! If you don’t see what you want or would be on our email list for updates, send us an email at info@cheshirecatphoto.com.