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Massive budget cuts and an overestimation of how much student fee hikes could save the University of California have sparked a debate among the UC Board of Regents about how the university should adjust to changing times.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budget proposal included recommendations to raise undergraduate fees by 10 percent, graduate fees by 40 percent and non-resident fees by 20 percent.

These cuts would substantially increase the cost of attending a UC. Fees for a non-resident academic graduate student, for instance, would go up to nearly $25,000 per year.

But even if the regents institute most of the cuts in Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget and raise the fees, the UC could still face a $170 million to $270 million funding shortfall, said Larry Hershman, UC vice president of budget, at the regents’ meeting in San Francisco on Wednesday.

Regent Ward Connerly said this indicates that times have changed and the UC cannot continue to operate the way it has.

Connerly said he believes the governor’s budget cuts send a clear message: The UC should send more students to community colleges and make professional schools self-sufficient.

He said while the UC might not like the governor’s message, it means the UC will have to start thinking about its priorities.

“We can’t just tighten our belts and go to Sacramento and ask for more money,” Connerly said. “We want to do that, but if we do that solely, we’ll be up the creek without a paddle.”

Many regents agreed that times have changed and funding levels might not return to their previous highs, but they were divided on how this should direct their actions.

“We need to be thinking through strategically what we can do to alter the UC rather than just across the board asking for more money,” Connerly said, adding that the UC is in a “wait and see mode,” trying to get the lay of the land.

But Velma Montoya said while advocating is a positive thing for the regents to do, governance and setting policy are the regents’ primary roles.

But many like Lawrence Pitts, chairman of the UC Academic Senate, stuck to the traditional line of regents, saying they could help preserve the UC system by informing Californians about the UC’s importance and its current predicament.

“There is a major role of advocacy, to let California’s people know the effects of (this) scenario,” Pitts said, referring to the state’s proposed budget cuts.

Jodi Anderson, student regent-designate and a UCLA graduate student in education, agreed.

“We as a university need to do a better job of educating people about the tremendous value of what we do,” Anderson said.

“Once we get the message out about our importance, if the state still does not want to invest, that is when we start thinking about long-term decisions.”

Some, like Regent Joanne Kozberg, have been lobbying for the UC’s interests. Kozberg was among the regents who helped garner support for the bond propositions in this month’s election.

Kozberg said that after successfully advocating for Propositions 55, 57 and 58, the regents are currently trying to understand the dynamic of the Legislature.

Proposition 55 was a bond measure that provided $12.3 billion to fund construction and renovation of state public schools. Both Propositions 57 and 58 dealt with a massive state bond measure.

“We see the system as a flexible system now where we need to be reflexive as well as proactive,” Kozberg said.

And some say the regents’ advocacy has not gone unnoticed.

Hershman said the Legislature is starting to show concern for the UC’s precarious position.

UC President Robert Dynes shared Hershman’s optimism.

“I think there is a growing concern that (the Legislature is) going to have to pay more attention to the university,” Dynes said.

Dynes said the regents should “absolutely” keep fighting the proposed cuts in the Legislature.  

He said he has been talking to the governor, his staff and state senators in Sacramento, in addition to talking to people in local communities as he travels around California.

“We have been working very hard to prepare an advocacy (that says) ‘Hey, don’t forget about the UC,’” Dynes said. “We have a lot of friends in Sacramento. They don’t have money in their pockets, but we have friends.”

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