California’s Tuition Hike is a Symptom of a Broken System
UC students are bracing for another tuition hike as administrators move forward with plans to raise the cost of attendance in the coming years. While officials insist the increase is necessary to keep campuses running, students are already drowning with record-high housing costs, food insecurity, and part-time jobs just to stay enrolled. With the total price of attending a UC campus now soaring past $40,000 a year when housing and basic needs are included, a degree is slipping further out of reach for thousands of California students.
The deeper issue isn’t just the latest tuition increase but that California has failed to adequately fund public higher education for decades. It doesn’t help that the Trump administration has repeatedly pushed for cuts to federal education funding targeting grant recipients, work-study programs, and campus aid that students rely on. If we want college to remain a public good and not a luxury, California needs a long-term plan to make higher education affordable, expand student housing, and support the growing number of students struggling to stay enrolled. Our public universities should open doors, not raise barriers.
Laure Andrillon/S.F. Chronicle
By Nanette Asimov | SF Chronicle | November 19th, 2025