blog

Following protests from University of California students around increasing student fees, UC President Mark Yudof announced a proposal Oct. 23 to help lower income families meet tuition costs. The UC will cover tuition for students whose families make up to a combined $70,000 a year—an increase from the $60,000 financial aid ceiling used in the past. 

Yudof hopes this plan will prevent students from being discouraged to apply to the UC simply because of financial concerns. The topic was especially relevant to the students of Sunnyside High School in Fresno—where the speech took place—as approximately 87 percent of the students come from low-income families.

According to Leslie Sepuka, spokeswoman for a UC Office of the President, “Lots of people say that they’d never be able to afford [a UC]. Low-income people need to get the message that [they’re] covered.”

Yudof also introduced a fundraising effort called Project You Can which would raise $1 billion over the next four years for all 10 UC campuses primarily through private donations. The money collected would provide scholarships, fellowships, and support for professional students. Each individual campus would set its own goals and fundraising goals.

Regents will vote on the proposal at their upcoming meeting in November at UCLA.

The announcement is the latest in a series of actions at UC campuses to help needy students. UC Berkeley recently launched a program to give struggling student parents help with groceries.

More from the Daily Bruin at UCLA
More from the Daily Californian at UC Berkeley
More from the National Student News Service