Atkins Proposes Plan To Avoid UC Tuition Increase

Plans by the University of California to raise tuition have been met with resistance by many state lawmakers. And now Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins says she’ll present a plan at the UC Board of Regents meeting tomorrow to avoid an increase.

Atkins says a tuition increase goes against the goal of making college more affordable for California students. But she acknowledges the university needs more money. So she’s trying to strike a balance.

"I will be proposing a plan that rejects the fee increases for in-state UC students and provides UC with additional state funding," she says.

Atkins’ plan would allocate an additional $50 million to UC. It would also allow modest fee increases for of out-of-state students and cap the number of them who can be accepted into the system. Atkins says UC would also have to operate more efficiently.

The university is proposing a 5 percent annual tuition increase for five years.