If the University were submitting a normal budget request for 2004-05, it would include an assumption that professional school fees would increase by about 5%, recognizing that, with its continuing fiscal difficulty, the State will not have sufficient resources to provide the funds necessary to avoid fee increases in both mandatory systemwide student fees and in professional school fees. Consistent with past practice, an amount equal to about one-third of the revenue generated by the fee increase would be used to mitigate the impact of the fee increase on financially needy students. If an increase of 5% in the Fees for Selected Professional School Students were to be implemented, the fee increases would range from $146 for nursing
students to $492 for law students. Such increases would generate about $3.8 million in new revenue, of which an amount equivalent to one-third
Pursuant to the provisions of the 1990 State Budget Act, a Special Fee for Law School and Medical School Students of $376 per year was implemented, effective as of 1990-91.
In January 1994, The Regents approved a Fee Policy for Selected Professional School Students. In approving the new fee policy, the University reaffirmed its commitment to maintain academic quality and enrollment in the designated professional school programs, and recognized that earning a degree in these programs benefits the individual financially as well as benefiting the state. The policy provides that the fee for each selected professional program is to be phased in so that total student charges at UC are approximately the average of fees charged for that program by comparable high quality institutions across the nation. Professional school students pay mandatory systemwide fees and miscellaneous campus-based fees and, when appropriate, nonresident tuition. The Special Fee for Law and Medical school students is coordinated with the Fee for Selected Professional School Students for those programs. Display 5 shows the fee levels previously approved by The Regents, as well as the fee levels for 2004-05, if a 5% increase in fees were to be implemented.
Display 5
New Fee
Assumes Estimated
1994-95 1995-96 1996-97 1997-98 2002-03 2003-04 5% Incr. 2004-05 Total Fees Medicine $ 2,376 $ 3,376 $ 4,376 $ 5,376 $ 5,776 $ 8,549 $ 427 $ 8,976 $ 16,084 Dentistry 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 5,400 8,060 403 8,463 16,097 Veterinary Medicine 2,000 3,000 4,000 4,000 4,350 6,565 328 6,893 16,165 Law 2,376 4,376 6,376 6,376 6,776 9,849 492 10,341 17,325 Business 2,000 4,000 6,000 6,000 6,400 9,360 468 9,828 17,037 Riverside 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 5,400 9,360 468 9,828 17,037 Optometry 2,000 3,000 3,250 4,875 244 5,119 11,533 Pharmacy 2,000 3,000 3,250 4,875 244 5,119 12,285 Nursing 1,500 1,800 1,950 2,925 146 3,071 10,040
Theater, Film, & TV 2,000 2,000 2,150 3,185 159 3,344 9,907 * In addition, professional school students pay mandatory Universitywide fees and miscellaneous campus-based fees.
Level
Fees Previously Approved by The Regents University of California
Fees for Selected Professional School Students Annual Fee Levels*
In 1997, AB 1318 (Chapter 853) was enacted, which, among its provisions, specified a two-year freeze on fees for California residents, including those enrolled in graduate academic or professional school programs. Thus, the planned professional school fee increases for 1998-99 that were previously reviewed by The Regents were not implemented. Professional school fees remained at 1997-98 levels until 2002-03 when these fees were increased
mid-year to help offset cuts to the University’s budget. They were
increased again for 2003-04 to offset cuts that otherwise would have been targeted to instructional programs.
Not only were professional school program fees frozen from 1997-98 through 1999-2000, but the University also received no funds for cost increases
associated with programs supported from these fees. The State Budget Acts of 2000 and 2001 recognized this disparity and included $1.4 million and $1.5 million respectively to provide cost increases for programs funded from Fees for Selected Professional School Students. The University’s
2002-03 budget plan assumed that the State would again provide funding to avoid fee increases in professional school fees. Unfortunately, the State’s fiscal situation continued to deteriorate and, for 2002-03 and 2003-04, the State was unable to provide the additional funds to the University to replace the revenue that an increase in these fees would have generated.
Display 6 (next page) shows 2003-04 professional school fees at the University of California in relation to the University's four public salary comparison institutions. Because most of the University’s four public salary comparison institutions do not offer degree programs in Veterinary Medicine and Optometry, additional public institutions are used for fee comparison purposes. While they are not used for fee comparison purposes, the table also shows the 2003-04 tuition and fees at the University's four private salary comparison institutions. The private comparison institutions do not offer all of the professional degree programs that UC offers; therefore the comparisons focus on medicine, law, and business administration.
For all but two programs, fees for resident students enrolled in these selected professional schools remain substantially lower than the average of the
tuition and fees charged by comparable public institutions. The differential between UC fees and the tuition and fees charged at comparable public institutions remains particularly significant in Medicine ($5,291) and
Business ($4,938). Considerable differentials also are found in Law ($2,936), Pharmacy ($2,149), Optometry ($1,960), and Dentistry ($1,517). Fees for students enrolled in Veterinary Medicine at Davis and the Theater, Film, and Television program at UCLA essentially are at parity with the average of student charges at their comparable public institutions. A 5% increase in fees would be modest and likely would do little to close the gap between the total resident charges for UC students and the average of the tuition and fees
Display 6
Under- Veterinary Business Theater,
University of California graduate Graduate Medicine Dentistry Medicine Law Admin. Optometry Pharmacy Nursing Film & TV 2003-04 Fees
Educational Fee, University Registration
Fee, and Average Miscellaneous Fees $ 5,530* $ 6,843 $ 7,108 $ 7,634 $ 9,272 $ 6,984 $ 6,209 $ 6,414 $ 7,166 $ 6,969 $ 6,563 Professional Fees -- -- $ 8,549 $ 8,060 $ 6,565 $ 9,849 $ 9,360 $ 4,875 $ 4,875 $ 2,925 $ 3,185 Total Fees for 2003-04 $ 5,530* $ 6,843 $ 15,657 $ 15,694 $ 15,837 $ 16,833 $ 15,569 $ 11,289 $ 12,041 $ 9,894 $ 9,748 Comparison Institution Fees
2003-04 Fees
Public Salary Comparison Institutions
University of Illinois $ 7,010 $ 7,756 $ 22,832 $ 17,258 $ 13,488 $ 14,566 $ 15,960 $ 12,842 $ 10,613 $ 7,754 University of Michigan $ 8,481 $ 12,933 $ 20,525 $ 19,865 $ 27,863 $ 29,687 $ 16,619 $ 13,833 $ 13,417 State University of New York $ 5,851 $ 7,987 $ 17,949 $ 14,509 $ 12,849 $ 8,159 $ 13,109 $ 7,992 University of Virginia $ 6,149 $ 7,856 $ 22,486 $ 23,798 $ 28,220 $ 6,019 $ 7,866 Additional Fee Comparison Institutions
for Selected Programs
University of Alabama $ 12,000 Cornell University (statutory college) $ 16,650
Michigan State University $ 14,000 University of Minnesota $ 15,911
University of Missouri $ 16,752 Ohio State University $ 10,995 University of Wisconsin $ 15,856
Average Public Comparison Institution
Average Fees for 2003-04 $ 6,873 $ 9,133 $ 20,948 $ 17,211 $ 15,181 $ 19,769 $ 20,507 $ 13,249 $ 14,190 $ 10,155 $ 9,721
Private Salary Comparison Institutions
Harvard University $ 28,404 $ 34,741 $ 39,288 Massachusetts Institute of Technology $ 29,600 $ 29,500 $ 34,680 Stanford University $ 28,563 $ 28,563 $ 34,716 $ 32,424 $ 36,252 Yale University $ 28,400 $ 28,400 $ 35,450 $ 33,690 $ 34,772 * Excludes undergraduate student health insurance fees. Effective Fall 2001, undergraduate students must demonstrate proof of insurance to enroll.
2003-04 RESIDENT FEES FOR SELECTED PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL STUDENTS UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Due to a concern about the ability of students with high debt to pursue public interest occupations, some professional schools have developed programs to assist students in meeting their loan repayment obligations after graduation. The University will continue to monitor the debt levels of these students.