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UC's Napolitano Calls for 2014-15 Tuition Freeze

Ben Adler

University of California students could see a third straight year without a tuition increase.  New UC President Janet Napolitano says she hopes to extend the current tuition freeze through the 2014-15 school year.  Ben Adler has more on Napolitano’s first UC Regents meeting as president Wednesday.

Six weeks into her new job, the former Arizona governor and Secretary of Homeland Security is putting forth a four-pronged agenda.  First: a tuition freeze.

Napolitano: “I’m very hopeful that our budget will accommodate enrollment growth and the pension contributions that are required and allow the university to continue to grow and freeze tuition for next year.”

Napolitano says that freeze depends – at least in part – on state funds, which are slowly starting to go back up after deep cuts during the recession.  During the meeting, Governor – and UC Regent – Jerry Brown cautioned the university about how much money will be available from Sacramento:

Brown: “When we get to the budget, you’re all gonna ask for a 10 percent increase, but you’re only gonna get a five percent increase.”

Another top priority for Napolitano is easing the bureaucratic hurdles for incoming transfer students:

Napolitano: “It’s very clear to me that that pipeline is not as streamlined as it needs to be, that there are a lot of things that get in the way of a smooth transfer, and that there’s a real desire out amongst the community colleges to have easier entrée into the UCs.”

Napolitano also wants to speed up the process for successful research to make a difference in society; and reduce the university’s energy consumption.

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