UC Students Propose New Tuition Policy: Pay Nothing Until Post-Graduation
Perpetual University of California (UC) tuition hikes have also heightened the stress and anger levels of students. But a group of UC Riverside students have proposed a solution to tuition increases.
Chris LoCascio, a junior at UC Riverside, and a team of students have spearheaded the Fix UC proposal, which says students should begin to pay for their UC education post-graduation and once they start making money. LoCascio explained his "what if" idea to NPR, proposing that "instead of charging students upfront for their education, students would attend the UC with no upfront costs whatsoever." LoCascio noted that "students would pay 5% of their income for 20 years" following graduation. The plan "is a very appealing way to make sure that the middle class continues to have access to higher education," says University of California President Mark Yudof.
The proposal gets quite a few thumbs-up, and it's not a new idea. Conservative economist Milton Friedman dreamed up similar concepts in the 1950s, viewing education as an investment. Friedman suggested the government should fund college education then charge graduates a percentage of their income in the future. Other countries, like New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom, have adopted similar policies that function like Social Security.
But with every idea comes naysayers. Yudof is open to the proposal but feels "it's frankly unworkable" in its current form. Tracking earnings from workers who move around or out of the country could prove difficult, and Yudof says the proposal would reduce the state's contribution to the university.
