University of California continues its policy of annual tuition hikes, despite growing student opposition

The University of California has restored its policy of annual tuition increases after the UC Board of Regents voted 13-3 to continue the system’s “stability” model, despite firm opposition from undergraduate leaders, AP reports.At its core, the model keeps tuition flat for each cohort of students for up to six years, but allows UC to raise tuition and systemwide fees for each incoming class by as much as 5% annually, indexed to inflation. Current undergraduates will see no change. Future entrants will pay more than the class before them and less than the class after.Graduate students, who are not included in the cohort structure, will continue to face yearly increases. The revised plan begins in 2026-27.

A shift from crisis spikes to predictable increments

UC officials argue the cohort policy replaces the system’s historic boom-and-bust pattern in which tuition stays frozen for years until recessions force sharp jumps. During the 2007 Great Recession, tuition doubled within six years.When the regents first adopted the cohort model in 2021, the price for entering undergraduates was $12,570. By 2024 it reached $14,934.The renewed model maintains the 5% cap but introduces two changes:

The student backlash

Undergraduates have opposed the structure since 2021 and mobilised again this week. “Students should not be fighting for our lives,” UCLA undergraduate association president Diego Emilio Bollo said at a rally, according to CalMatters. He argued UC should pursue funding from state and federal governments before turning to students.Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, a voting regent, echoed student concerns. “Our students sleep in their cars. Our students go to food banks,” she said, AP reports. She argued that tuition decisions should be reviewed annually instead of operating on near-automatic increases.

Why the regents voted yes

Supporters of the model say predictability and revenue stability outweigh the risks. Regent Michael Cohen, who helped negotiate higher financial aid when the plan was introduced in 2021, said students effectively receive a discount as tuition remains flat for six years while inflation rises.He added that the tuition framework helped UC enrol 15,000 more Californians, a scale of access state funding alone could not support, AP reports.

Financial aid: The quiet pivot

One of the most consequential decisions was lowering the share of new tuition revenue dedicated to undergraduate financial aid from 45% to 40%. When the model first launched, the figure was 33%, according to AP.Paradoxically, these tuition increases have expanded aid for low- and middle-income students. UC officials told the regents the policy has generated roughly $1 billion in additional financial aid, with many students receiving more support for both tuition and living costs than they would have under a no-increase model.About half of in-state undergraduates come from households earning below $120,000. For these students, the return-to-aid policy shields them from higher tuition. For higher-income families, the increases result in higher out-of-pocket costs.

Budget pressures drive the recalibration

The shift in aid allocation is rooted in UC’s broader financial strain. The system is educating around 4,000 more California students than the state funds. Revenue per student has fallen from $30,000 to $28,000 in four years. Nearly 800 UC employees have been laid off this year.UC President James B. Milliken said the layoffs “reflect the seriousness of the financial pressures we are navigating,” AP reports.UC is also entangled in a series of federal battles. It is attempting to recover 1,600 research grants suspended during the Trump administration; 400 remain frozen, representing $230 million. Another legal dispute over a federal funding formula places an additional $500 million at risk.

Capital needs and the 1% increase

The regents’ revised plan allows the extra 1% tuition increment to be used broadly across campuses rather than being restricted to student-facing facilities. UC officials said the system faces a $9 billion backlog in deferred maintenance, AP reports.The UC Student Association opposed using tuition for capital work, urging the board to direct the money instead to basic needs, retention programmes and health services.

A tense vote

During the meeting, a group of students briefly halted proceedings by chanting prepared slogans opposing the tuition rise. Regents asked UC police to declare an unlawful assembly. Officers in protective gear entered as students left the room; AP reported there was no confrontation.

The next review point

The board agreed to revisit the cohort model in seven years, a concession to students and some regents who objected to the system continuing indefinitely without evaluation.