OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT VICE CHANCELLOR
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
January 4, 1996
ALL AT UCSD
SUBJECT: Response to 1996-97 Governor's Budget Proposal
For your information, the following is the official news release from the Office of the President - University Relations, regarding the University's response to the 1996-97 Governor's Budget Proposal.
If you have any questions concerning this notice, please call Pamela Sanford at 534-3480.
Margaret F. Pryatel
Assistant Vice Chancellor
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The following is a copy of the news release sent out today in response to Gov. Wilson's budget proposal.
January 4, 1996
Mike Lassister
Director, News and Communications
Office of the President
News Office (510) 987-9200
UC APPLAUDS GOVERNOR'S BUDGET PROPOSAL
Gov. Pete Wilson today (Wednesday, Jan. 3) announced that his 1996-97 proposed state budget will include the money necessary to keep UC general student fees at the same level as the past two years while fully funding his compact with higher education.
"I am most encouraged by the governor's proposal to the 
     Legislature and I thank him for recognizing the need to keep 
     student fees from increasing while simultaneously safeguarding 
     the quality and accessibility of higher education," said UC President Richard C. Atkinson.
"I applaud the governor's recognition of the important role 
     higher education plays in preparing a skilled workforce for 
     competition in the global marketplace and the important role UC 
     plays in a healthy California economy," Atkinson said.
"This comes as welcome news to the university, UC students and 
     their parents who endured the state's most difficult economic 
     period since the Great Depression. It is fitting that they now 
     benefit from California's improving economy."
The governor's decision to add $27 million to his compact for higher education with UC fulfills a priority set last fall when the Board of Regents stated that if additional funds were available from the state in 1996-97 there should be no student fee increase.
Under the governor's proposal, mandatory student fees for California residents next fall would remain at $3,799 a year -- the same amount since 1994-95. The amount does not include miscellaneous student fees which vary on each of the nine UC campuses.
Last year, the governor provided a four-year compact with higher education that anticipated General Fund budget increases averaging 4 percent per year for UC and California State University.
His decision to fully fund the compact again this year and augment it with money to prevent a student fee hike means UC will receive a 6 percent increase in state funding -- $110 million more than last year's $1.92 billion budget. The budget would allow UC to go forward with a three-year plan to restore faculty salaries that currently lag about 10 percent behind comparison institutions by 1998-99. In 1996-97, all UC employees would receive the equivalent of a 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment and the equivalent to an additional 3 percent salary increase for faculty, plus merit raises.
The compact assures that for the near term UC can sustain the excellence of its programs, that all eligible Californians seeking undergraduate admission will be offered a place at a UC campus and that classes will be provided to enable students to graduate in a timely fashion.
The governor's proposal does not affect a proposed increase in non-resident tuition or proposed fee increases for students entering certain professional graduate school programs.
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>To: jmj@pio.URel.Berkeley.EDU, mrstratton@ucdavis.edu, smenning@uci.edu, >From: Michael.Lassiter@ucop.edu (Michael Lassiter)