College Finances

Helping families afford college

Chancellor Birgeneau (Peg Skorpinski photo)

Spring 2008 | Amid projections that the cost of attending a four-year university will continue to rise — and recent bold moves by some private universities to spend income from their sizable endowments to cap costs for low- and middle-income students — the University of California is focused on ensuring that qualified students are financially able to attend UC well into the future.

“We do not have a crisis now, but there is a crisis in front of us,” said Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, who heads the UC Workgroup on Undergraduate Affordability, which made its first report to the Board of Regents in January. The workgroup urged the 10-campus system to start now to generate new funds for student aid through public-private partnerships — and to make aid for undergraduates a higher priority in competing for existing UC resources, even in this challenging budget year.

Birgeneau has been among the most vocal and visible advocates nationally on the importance of keeping public universities open to students regardless of their families’ ability to pay.

Harvard’s dramatic announcement in December that it would extend financial aid to students from families with incomes up to $180,000 sparked nationwide discussion of the economics of higher education. Yale, Princeton, and then Stanford followed with similar plans. But public universities, which educate three out of every four U.S. students, lack the hefty endowments available to private institutions. The unavoidable question: How can public universities keep higher education affordable for families with incomes below six figures?

More about the issue — including a Q&A with the chancellor, a video discussion with campus leaders, UC financial-aid links for families, and frequent updates.