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Every Spring, thousands of California students load up their computers and log in to the University of California portals to check their admission status with excitement. For many, the moment they see “we are pleased to offer you admission to…”, they are full of joy and pride. Years of hard work have finally paid off. However, what immediately follows is an all-too-familiar question: “How am I going to pay for this?” 

Indeed, college affordability is a fundamental determinant to students’ ability to successfully retain their education and use it to pave their path of upward mobility. When financial aid is not sufficient enough to cover demonstrated need, students from working-class backgrounds have to borrow more money, work longer hours, and, in the worst cases, drop out. This is not guesswork; study after study shows that financial insecurity is among the strongest predictors of delayed graduation and dropout. In fact, the 2018 Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis (CEPA) meta-analysis of 42 studies found that grant aid increases the likelihood of a student's degree completion by 2 to 3 percentage points.

 This is all the more reason why it is so concerning to see actions such as that of the University of California Board of Regents, who last year approved a new tuition increase and financial aid plan that cuts back on its return-to-aid policy all while increasing tuition levels at the University of California to historic highs. At its core, the recent decision centers around renewing the 2021 tuition stability plan approved at the UC system. This increased tuition by up to 5% annually for each new cohort of students and set the return-to-aid, the portion of that increase going to financial aid for low-income students managing the higher costs, at 45%. 

However, in its most recent re-approval of the plan, the UC Regents decided to cut the return-to-aid portion of future undergraduate tuition and student services fees from 45% to 40% starting this fall, with plans for it to eventually go down even further to 33%. This means that students now face rising costs while having less institutional financial aid funding to lean on for supporting their college costs.

Supporters of UC’s policy change argue that it will make the system easier for students to understand their costs and allow the University to be more competitive with other university systems. They argue that there is plenty of financial aid to support low-income students even with a reduced return-to-aid… They are wrong. 

It sounds good in principle to “simplify” financial aid, but when the result is less-targeted aid for students who most need assistance, this reform does more harm than good. It is gutting the very purpose of the University of California system: to provide affordable access to a world-class education for all students, regardless of their background. It also runs counter to the goals that California has set for itself. The state has ambitious educational attainment objectives and has invested heavily in enhancing its community colleges and transfer pathways to the University of California system. 

Especially at a time when state and federal financial aid dollars are increasingly becoming restrictive and with strings attached, institutional aid is the safe haven that many campuses can use to address the last-dollar and unique financial needs of their marginalized students, such as undocumented and mixed status students. Needlessly restricting that ability is an obvious mismatch of sound strategy. This is already negatively impacting University financial aid offices in their ability to support their students.

If the University of California is serious about affordability, its leadership should make policy choices that bolster affordability and signal its importance to students. That is why the UC Regents must reconsider the new tuition stability program and re-align the return-to-aid funding back to 45% to ensure a robust system of need-based aid, while advancing a modernized data system that provides more accurate information on the cost of attendance. 

Affordability and financial aid are not just buzzwords; they are key to giving students the chance to pursue their career aspirations and meeting California’s promise of an attainable public higher education. The future of California depends on today’s leaders to make policies that resonate with students and pave the path for them to graduate debt-free. It is time for the University of California to step up to that promise and ensure that every student, regardless of background or income, has a fair and equitable opportunity to succeed.