SAN FRANCISCO — A proposed tuition hike was tentatively approved Wednesday by a committee of the University of California governing board.
The committee voted 7 to 2 to approve the plan recommended by UC president Janet Napolitano that would raise tuition in each of the next five years.
The proposed tuition increases still must be reviewed by the full Board of Regents on Thursday. Napolitano said the increases are needed to protect the quality of education in the face of insufficient state funding. Tuition rates at the 10 UC schools have been frozen for three years.
Under the plan, the average annual cost of a UC education for California residents would go up $612 to $12,804 next fall and to $15,564 by fall 2019.
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The dissenting votes came from Governor Jerry Brown and the student regent.
Before the vote, Brown said he wants a task force to look at ways of restructuring the system so more students can be educated in less time.
The task force could look at transfer and completion routes for community college students, a ramp-up in online classes, and making each campus more distinct in academic specialties, he said.
Napolitano said she is open to new ideas and would like to work with Brown but there isn’t time for a new task force.