UAW2865 UCSB Letter Opposing the tuition hikes! We, the UAW 2865 union for teaching assistants, readers, and tutors, know that a tuition increase is not the way to achieve academic excellence at the University of California. On Wednesday, November 19th, the UC Regents will vote on a plan to raise tuition by 27% over the next five years. This would place the cost of attendance for in-state students over $15,500 per year - over $3,000 more than what students currently pay - and over double this amount for out-of-state students. Should the proposed tuition increase pass, we are at risk of further eroding two cornerstones of the university: affordability and accessibility. As a union of primarily graduate students, we have the unique position of spending every day with our students. With them, we experience the direct effects of reduced faculty numbers and growing class sizes as a result of the last fifteen years of budget cuts for higher education. Our students are increasingly distanced from the quality education they deserve while tuition costs are already at an all-time high. Raising students’ tuition costs is not the answer. Furthermore, because fees and tuition for graduate students are increasing rapidly, and our departments and research programs pay these fees, we are concerned that the UC can no longer offer competitive support packages to attract the best graduate students. The UC risks declining excellence in university teaching and research because of this inability to win the the competition for the best graduate students. We join undergraduates and UCSA in calling for the UC Regents to vote NO on the proposed tuition increase in order to preserve the university’s affordability and accessibility. ucsa.org/action-alerts/sign-our-petition/ We join Teamsters Local 2010 in calling for the UC Regents to vote NO on the proposed tuition increase in order to make public education affordable for working class families. teamsters2010.org/index.cfm?zone=/unionactive/view_article.cfm&HomeID=451291 We join our faculty and The Council of UC Faculty Associations in calling for Governor Jerry Brown to fund the UC and make public higher education affordable. ucsbfa.org/?p=436 As academic student workers, we call upon the UC Regents to vote NO to the tuition increase and we call upon Governor Jerry Brown to allocate $100 million dollars to fund the UC. The University of California and the Governor must both prioritize affordable, accessible public education if we are to restore quality education at the UC.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 04:54:38 +0000
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