As the Chair of the UC Davis Graduate Student Association, I am writing to express my opposition to the proposed tuition increases. Tuition increases for graduate and professional students have wide ranging impacts on our institution. Graduate and professional students are uniquely funded within the UC- our tuition is often remitted through our employment by the University, research grants, and endowments. These sources will be hard pressed to maintain the current number of supported students if they must also absorb tuition increases. This will affect recruitment and retention of our outstanding graduate and professional students. It will also impact quality of teaching and research at our institution- by reducing the number of students we can support, we reduce the number of teaching assistants, associate instructors, and graduate student researchers who are integral to advancing the mission of the University. Professional students already go tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt for their education- is this fair and equitable to our future doctors, veterinarians, nurses, teachers, lawyers, and professionals? It is not within our best interests as an institution to price professional education out of the reach of qualified applicants, especially when demand for these professions in our society outstrips supply. Tuition increases create an access barrier to disadvantaged groups. We can not build a diverse and inclusive institution by excluding certain groups based on their ability to pay or their perception that a UC education is out of their reach. We need diverse view points to drive education within the classroom and advancement of the arts, humanities, science, and engineering. I call upon all stakeholders in this conversation to find another way to solve UCs budget problems without further burdening the students. #iftuitionrises #ucdavis #universityofcalifornia
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 17:40:38 +0000
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