State Residents at U. of California Will See Tuition Frozen for 2 Years

In-state undergraduates at the University of California won’t face tuition increases for the next two years, according to the terms of a deal struck between Gov. Jerry Brown and the system’s president, Janet Napolitano, reports the Los Angeles Times.

In November system regents approved a tuition plan — over the governor’s objections — that could have raised tuition by as much as 5 percent in each of the next five years. That measure was one component of long-running negotiations that seemed to conclude with Thursday’s deal.

According to the terms of the deal, the system will get, among other things, a 4-percent increase in funding in each of the next four years and a one-time sum of $436 million over the next three years to pay for pensions. Under the plan, tuition for residents — now $12,192 — will rise again in the 2017-18 academic year, though the increase will be capped at 5 percent annually.

“We’ve reached a very good agreement from the perspective of the university and for California,” Ms. Napolitano told the Times, singling out “a tremendous period of predictable tuition for California residents.”

Under the deal the system pledges to take steps Mr. Brown advocated instead of tuition increases, including clearing the path to three-year undergraduate degrees and eliminating course requirements for graduation that students have found difficult to meet because of a lack of available seats in the courses.

Out-of-state students are expected to face a 5-percent tuition increase next year.