Dear Friend,

SAVE the University, an independent faculty organization at UC Berkeley, asks for your
assistance in contacting members of the State legislature to request their support for
postponing the UC Regents vote on a fee hike of 32% for undergraduate students
(scheduled for Nov. 19).

We’ve drawn up a letter that could be used as a template by legislators who might be
moved to ask the UC regents for a postponement. Their intervention will help send a
powerful signal to the UC Regents that it must demonstrate fiscal transparency in its
response to the budget crisis and that it must protect accessible and affordable higher
education for the people of California.

In solidarity,

Coordinating Council, SAVE the University:

Co-chairs: Peter Glazer: prg@berkeley.edu
Greg Levine: gplevine@berkeley.edu
Suzanne Guerlac: guerlac@berkeley.edu
Nelson Maldonado-Torres: nmt@berkeley.edu
Rachel Morello-Frosch: rmf@berkeley.edu
Kevin Padian: kpadian@berkeley.edu
Scott Saul: scottsaul@gmail.com
Shannon Steen: shannon.steen@gmail.com
Alan Tansman: tansmana@berkeley.edu
Barrie Thorne: bthorne@berkeley.edu
Richard Walker: walker@berkeley.edu

SAVEUC.org
Call to Postpone the UC Regents Vote of Fee Hikes.

Dear UC Board of Regents:

You are scheduled to vote on proposed fee hikes for UC graduate and undergraduate
students at their meeting in Los Angeles on Nov. 19. The proposed increase of 32% for
undergraduates, coming on top of previous hikes, would mean a total increase of 40%
within the last 18 months. These increases are overwhelming to large numbers of
students and their families, already burdened by declining educational services at the
university that threaten to prolong time to graduation. The new hike would go into
immediate effect for the Spring 2010 Semester (UCB) or Winter 2010 Quarter (all other
campuses). The precipitous increase of thousands of dollars is expected to force large
numbers of students, some very close to graduating, to withdraw from UC or to incur
further crippling financial debt.

In the meantime, significant questions have arisen concerning the use of the funds that
would result from these fee hikes. We are concerned that some student fee revenue, rather
than funding instruction, is diverted to debt service for university construction projects.
We are concerned also that a portion of student fees from all campuses subsidize the
medical centers at UCSF, UCLA and Davis. Families hard-pressed to pay for their
children's university education would surely be unhappy at the prospect of paying yet
more when these moneys may be inappropriately diverted from the educational mission
of the university.

The fee hike as planned is an extreme measure and should not be voted upon without
transparency, accountability, and fair consideration of other options. None of this has
been done, and the impending vote is less than two weeks away.

We/I the undersigned, ask the following:

That any vote concerning UC fee hikes should be deferred until an audit can be
accomplished and it can be clearly demonstrated that the revenue from fee hikes
will go to education, not construction or other UC projects.

That more time be taken to consider alternative options to an across the board
32% fee hike, such as a fee structure correlated to ability to pay, and a slower and
smaller fee hike over the next 18 months. Just as the faculty furlough policy of an
across the board salary reduction was adjusted to a graduated cut, so should fees
be adjusted to means.

Yours sincerely,