Previously, fees had been raised on a year-by-year basis; a new system sets fees on a three-year basis to make it easier for students to plan a budget.
Several professional schools are asking for increases of 7 percent, which is in line with previous years, but some schools are asking for more. Officials at UC Berkeley's law school want increases which would take fees to $41,000 by 2010-11, compared to $35,000 proposed by the law school at UC Davis. Berkeley's business school would charge $41,000 by 2010-11 compared to $31,000 at UC San Diego.
School officials say they need the extra money to maintain quality considering cuts in state funding. They note the increases would be accompanied by increased financial aid and law schools would have loan forgiveness programs to encourage students to take up lower-paying public service jobs.
Opponents say the fees could deter low-income students and are out of step with UC's mission as a public university.
Also on the regents' agenda is approving a salary for legal scholar Erwin Chemerinsky, who was reappointed dean of UC Irvine's new law school this week after a series of events that saw him appointed and then jettisoned by UC Irvine Chancellor Michael V. Drake.
Chemerinsky has said Drake told him the offer had been withdrawn because some regents were concerned about the new dean's politics, although Drake has said politics weren't the problem.
--Associated Press
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