On Nov. 13, the Associated Students of the University of California, Riverside (ASUCR) discussed the UC 2025-2026 budget adjustments from the Office of the President. Vice President of External Affairs (VPEA) Vivian Herrera explained that this proposed budget is meant to address “University’s funding needs and priorities in advance of the Governor’s January State budget proposal for the next fiscal year.”
There are three main recommendations proposed by UC President Michael Drake. Increase non-California resident tuition for incoming students, a new proposed budget for current operations and a request for one-time State funding of $1.36 billion for facilities renewal, enrollment growth, and clean energy.
The first solution would increase the undergraduate nonresident supplemental tuition (NRST) from $34,200 to $37,602. This would be a $3,402 increase per quarter. This proposed increase is meant to “enhance affordability and student success.” VPEA Herrera condemned this proposal, claiming that it targeted undocumented students and decreased accessibility to higher education for other marginalized groups.
Following this proposed solution, the Office of the President also explained their outlined budget for the 2025-2026 academic year in four main categories. By sustaining the core operations, the University believes that it can “expand access to students from all backgrounds, ensure an affordable experience, and maintain the educational quality enjoyed by generations of students.” The second category is faculty and staff. With an increased budget, the University could compensate their faculty and staff in a way that supports the transmission of knowledge in a safe environment. The final two categories are a ladder-ranked faculty program and managing competition between universities.
The final solution described is a $1.36 billion grant from the state. Providing context for the budget plan, previously in May 2022, the Governor and the University had entered into a multi-year Compact that increased State support for shared goals between the Governor and the University. Under this compact, there is an annual “base budget adjustment of five percent,” which began for the 2023-2024 academic year though the 2026-2027 academic year. California Gov. Gavin Newsom also has the opportunity to “consider annual requests for one-time funding for the University, particularly to support capital projects in energy efficiency, seismic renewal, and deferred maintenance.”
