Two law school deans and an associate dean of the UCLA medical school gave a sober assessment of the reality of raising fees for students in professional schools as a way to ensure academic quality.
A common theme they expressed to the Regents on Wednesday is that every campus could benefit from and would appreciate a UC student fee policy to help them plan for multiple years rather than react from one year to the next based on highs and lows of the UC budget. The law school deans also cited the need for greater flexibility for campuses to set professional school student fees based on their own institutional mission, market position and strategic plan.
Indeed, Christopher Edley Jr., dean of UC Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), and Rex Perschbacher, dean of UC Davis School of Law, both emphasized the point that there is no "one-size-fits-all solution" when it comes to setting student fees for professional schools.
"Different campuses need the flexibility to set fees to reflect their different goals and market positions," Perschbacher told the Regents Committee on Educational Policy.
Complicating the issue of raising student fees for UC's health science professional schools is that the state needs all the incentives it can get to meet current and future workforce challenges. The state is already facing a shortage of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and dentists, especially in rural areas. Raising fees for medical schools, for example, would further hinder UC's ability to attract a diverse pool of medical students who are needed to care for an increasingly aging and ethnically diverse population.
UC President Robert Dynes has recommended that the committee revise the policy on fees for selected professional school students, but the item was changed from one requiring action to discussion only prior to Wednesday's meeting at the UCSF Mission Bay Community Center.
In his opening remarks, Dynes set the tone for the meeting, saying 2007 will be a "pivotal year for the University" and will "set it on a new course to address the future needs of California." He added that while Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed state budget supports UC's compact with him -- allowing the University to boost student enrollment and raise faculty and staff salaries -- several outstanding issues remain, including the controversial subject of student fees.
Quality at Stake
Acknowledging that the cost of a UC professional degree is no longer a bargain, Edley recommended that Boalt Hall raise its fees even higher. He proposed that Boalt Hall, which has already seen tuition for California residents climb to $25,457 a year, raise its fees up near the market levels of comparable law schools - less $5,000 a year "as a meaningful discount as a public institution."
In proposing a financial burden-sharing program that relies in part on private donations, capital fundraising and yearly student fee increases, Edley told the Regents that nothing less than the quality of the academic program at Boalt Hall is at stake. Its ranking by
US News & World Report, for example, has fallen to eighth among law schools in the nation. Edley said that without the flexibility to raise student fees to carry out Boalt Hall's strategic plan, the law school would experience further erosion in quality in the form of "hemorrhaging of talent beginning with the dean."
Additional revenue raised by the burden-sharing program, Edley explained, would help Boalt Hall invest in student scholarships and a loan forgiveness program, which is among the most generous in the nation, as well as reduce the student-to-faculty ratio and expand the faculty by 20 percent.
Perschbacher expressed his concerns about the skyrocketing fees for professional school students. The rapid rise in fees over the last few years challenges UC's public mission to keep the University affordable and accessible to people of all socioeconomic levels. In his presentation, Perschbacher emphasized the point of just how dramatic the student fee hikes have been since the days when he attended the law school. Professional school fees, he noted, have doubled in the past six years alone.
One chart that Perschbacher showed the Regents reflected the soaring cost to attend UC Davis School of Law: Annual fees went from $1,210 per year in 1982-1983 to $10,881 in 1996-1997 to $24,537 in 2006-2007.
Edley, who argued that Boalt Hall's financial aid package also must be targeted to the most needy students in the wake of recent fee hikes, urged the Regents to approve a set of multiyear, goal-driven professional degree fee plans this year.
But some Regents and President Dynes said they want more time to discuss and debate this issue. "A silver bullet will not answer these serious issues," Dynes said.
Regent Joanne Kozberg said she appreciated the thoughtful discussion about professional schools, but needs more time to consider the issues. "Clearly, we are at a crossroads," she said. "We really have a lot to discuss and debate."
For his part, Regent Richard Blum reiterated UC's longstanding problem. "Our entire system and the [Boalt Hall law] school is chronically underfunded," he said, adding that he understands the need to get past the year-to-year struggle over budget woes.
The UC Academic Council has resolved not to endorse the principles in the proposed professional school fee policy based on fundamental concerns, including ensuring affordability and accessibility to a diverse student population.
Related Links:
Regents to Discuss New Fee Policy for Professional SchoolUCSF Today, January 17, 2007
