In another effort to compensate for anticipated budget cuts, the University of California system last week significantly raised fees for professional graduate students and expanded by seven the number of programs designated as “professional”. This fee increase, which takes effect next school year, means candidates for professional degrees will be required to pay as much as $8,000 in additional fees per year. Among the newly designated professional degrees are graduate programs in social work, architecture and urban planning.
Obviously, this was not welcome news to students, especially those who are currently enrolled in professional programs. Some of these students will see their fees increase by as much as 21%. Proponents of the fee increase point to the future earnings potential of students graduating with professional degrees such as MBA’s, JD’s and MD’s. These same proponents claim the increase is necessary to maintain the student-faculty ratio and, more importantly, the quality of the graduate programs. Still, students are dissatisfied with the size of the increase as well as the number of programs that have been re-classified as professional. As it is, many students are graduating college and graduate school with tens of thousands of dollars in debt. The surplus fees will, no doubt, only inflate the debt burden of these students.
What do you think? Is it right to raise fees on professional students? Facing steep cuts of its own, should CSULB and the entire California State University system consider expanding the number of professional programs and tack on surplus fees? Or, should all students pay the same tuition and fees regardless of program of study? Should a business student at Long Beach State pay the same for his/her education as an English major? Does/should major matter?