COUNTYWIDE : Students Quietly Protest Fee Increases

A steady rise in fees at public universities and colleges throughout the state are adding extra burdens for local students in addition to the usual academic rigors.

Instead of demonstrations and rowdy marches, students throughout Orange County are protesting the fee hikes in quieter ways: writing letters to legislators, signing petitions, forming budget study groups and organizing lobbying efforts in Sacramento.

“We keep paying more and what are (we) getting? (We’re) getting less,” said Matthew Kazmierczak, a student government leader at UC Irvine who has been lobbying legislators in Sacramento. “You pay more and library hours go down. You pay more and you get more teaching assistants. It’s a significant frustration in trying to get classes.”

Students at UC Irvine already are girding for a fee increase of at least $605 next year. That 20% increase, approved Nov. 20 by the University of California Board of Regents, would bring basic costs for undergraduate Californians to about $3,650 in the 1993-94 school year, not counting room, board, books, activities and other costs.

Under the proposed UC budget, nearly 60% of a projected $255-million budget shortfall will be handled through reductions in employees, with the rest covered by higher student fees, cuts in library, supply and equipment purchases and reduced maintenance.

The fee hike could go higher if the UC system does not receive a proposed 5.5% increase, or about $100 million, in additional funds in the 1993-94 state budget.

“Most likely, we’re looking at a $1,000 fee increase,” Kazmierczak predicted.

One of the top concerns for students and administrators is that increasing fees will push lower- and middle-income students out of state universities and colleges, endangering the access that has long been the hallmark of higher education in California. Another worry is that fee hikes will hurt efforts to increase ethnic diversity at public campuses.

At Cal State Fullerton, students were hit with a 40% fee increase this year, bringing annual fees--including local fees for the university center and other activities--to $1,480. Because the state did not have a budget until late August, students did not know how much extra they would have to pay until after they registered for the fall semester.

So far, about 400 students out of 24,500 have yet to pay the additional $186 in fees, according to Don Schweitzer, Cal State Fullerton’s vice president of academic affairs.

At community colleges, full-time students are facing fee increases of 100% and more beginning with the spring semester that starts in January. Where students once paid $6 per unit, up to a maximum of $60, they will now pay $10 per unit with no maximum. Students who already have bachelor’s and graduate degrees will pay $50 per unit, bringing their fees for a full load of course work to about the same level as they would pay at a California State University campus.

At the same time fees have risen, financial aid for students throughout the county has not been keeping pace with demands, officials said. About the only thing going up is the number of student loans.

“The entire university is hurting in so many areas,” said Manuel Gomez, associate vice chancellor of academic affairs, admissions and recruitment at UC Irvine.

Despite the challenges, Gomez said, young students should not dismiss higher education because of the state fiscal crisis. “Any young person who wants to pursue their education has to understand that they are going to have to work harder,” Gomez said. “But the opportunity and the benefits from higher education are still a demonstrated bargain.”

Rising Cost of Education

Fees and tuitions have been rising at both public and private colleges in recent years. How state schools compare to Chapman University and the community colleges in annual costs:

1990-91 1991-92 1992-93 University of California $1,820 $2,486 * $3,049 California State University $780 $936 * $1,308 Chapman University $11,910 $12,974 $14,936 Community colleges $5 a unit $6 a unit $10 a unit ($50 max) ($60 max) **(no max)

* Fees for full-time students who are state residents.

** $50 a unit for students with degrees.

Note: Does not include local fees imposed by individual state universities.

Source: California State University system, University of California system, Chapman University, California Community College system

Researched by ANNA CEKOLA / For The Times