By Leo Wallach
Daily Bruin Contributor
A UC report to be presented next month calls for a $215 million
increase annually in UC financial support for graduate students to
prevent the loss of top candidates to other schools.
The Commission on Growth and Support of Graduate Education found
that an increase in inflation, housing costs and graduate
admissions have necessitated increased funding for graduate
financial support.
“UCLA as well as other UC campuses are losing some of the
most talented and potentially creative and productive graduate
students to other institutions,” Jim Turner, assistant vice
chancellor of graduate studies, said to The Associated Press.
According to Turner, a recent study showed UCLA ranking seventh
out of the nine UCs in graduate student aid. Graduate education is
typically highly subsidized in the form of tuition payment,
employment and stipends.
He added that UCLA needs an estimated $63 million annual
increase to maintain its elite status.
Tidal Wave II ““ a surge of 60,000 students to the UC over
the next 10 years ““ includes an estimated increase of 11,000
graduate students, which the commission says must be addressed by
increasing funding if the UC is to maintain its prestige.
According to Sandra Smith, the principal staff member on the
commission, UC graduate programs currently accept only 27 percent
of applicants. The problem is that the university must vie for the
top applicants from around the world who receive competitive
financial aid packages from institutions nationwide, she said.
Other higher institutions can offer better financial packages to
graduate students, potentially drawing the most promising
applicants to other universities, she added.
Private institutions in particular, can draw from huge
fund-raising to offer students lucrative packages, said Mary Ann
Mason, dean of the graduate division at UC Berkeley.
“We really have an uphill battle to match the packages
offered by private institutions,” she said.
UC Berkeley has launched a $200 million fund-raising campaign
for graduate fellowships.
But UCLA and the other UCs are hampered in particular by the
out-of-state fees they charge.
“All of the private and many of the public institutions
waive the out-of-state fees for people that are in teaching and
research positions,” Turner said.
UCLA is generally unable to guarantee long-term financial aid to
prospective students, Turner said. For instance, a student might be
guaranteed $18,000 their first year but only get tentative offers
for future years, he said.
The commission’s recommendation for increased funding has
come during a state budget crisis. Gov. Gray Davis has requested a
15-percent budget cut from all departments, though the UC budget
for next year has not been set.
According to UC spokesman Brad Hayward, 35 percent of graduate
support funding is paid for by the state, while 25 percent is paid
by the federal government, 25 percent paid in fees and 15 percent
by private donations.
Smith said a decrease in the quality of graduate programs in
California could have detrimental consequences for the state.
“The products of our graduate programs are the foundations
of California’s economy,” she said. “If we
don’t get more graduate students, we’re not going to
have an economy in California as strong as it could be.”
With reports from The Associated Press.