The UC has become more reliant on tuition revenue because of state funding fluctuations, according to a June report from a California research institute.
The University’s tuition revenue accounts for roughly two-thirds of its core funding, according to a report by the Public Policy Institute of California. Tuition revenues make up about half of the funding for the California State University system and less than a tenth for the California Community College system.
The shift comes as per-student state funding for the UC has fallen by around 35% over the past 30 years, according to the report.
However, the University’s reliance on tuition does not necessarily indicate that its funding model is unsustainable, said Iwunze Ugo, a PPIC research fellow.
“It’s not creating this massive budget pressure,” he said. “To the extent that the state side of UC funding is unreliable, that’s where they’re putting tuition in instead.”
Newly admitted California resident undergraduate UCLA students will pay approximately $16,430 in tuition and campus fees for the 2026-27 year, according to estimates on the Financial Aid and Scholarships website.
Nonresident students will pay an additional $39,270 in supplemental tuition for 2026-27, according to the website. The total annual estimated cost for California residents living on campus is around $45,500 and $84,770 for nonresidents.
State funding remains critical to the UC’s operations, a UC Office of the President spokesperson said in an emailed statement. Around 63% of California undergraduates graduated without student loan debt last year, and more than half of UC students do not pay tuition because of financial aid, they added.
The California state budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year includes a $350 million funding increase to the UC. The budget, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in June, also includes a $130 million funding deferral to the University until the 2027-28 fiscal year.
[Related: Gov. Gavin Newsom signs state budget, granting UC $350 million funding increase]
The University sets aside 40% of new undergraduate tuition revenue for the Tuition Stability Plan, which freezes tuition costs for in-state and nonresident students at the time of entrance for up to six years, according to the UC website. The UC Board of Regents renewed the plan in November.
[Related: UC Regents amend, renew progressive tuition increases for new students]
Students and advocates have raised concerns about the UC’s reliance on tuition, citing an increased financial burden on students and growing affordability concerns.
Depending on tuition increases could reduce pressure on the state to fund higher education, said Candice Phan, the president of the UC Student Association.
“This reflects a dangerous feedback loop, because every time that the UC demonstrates that it’s willing and able to backfill budget gaps by raising tuition and relying on students to pay the price, it reduces the political pressure on the state legislature to adequately fund higher education,” said Phan, a fourth-year sociology student at UC Davis.
UCSA members said there are growing concerns about high costs for housing, food and transportation from students and campus basic needs centers, she added.
“Financial aid is not keeping up with the rising costs of rent and groceries and transportation,” Phan said. “We’re hearing from basic needs centers directly that housing case management has just skyrocketed because students are struggling to pay their rent.”
Valerie Lundy-Wagner, who co-authored the June PPIC report, said California’s high cost of living means that financial aid does not fully offset students’ non-tuition expenses, such as housing. Policymakers should work to reduce the overall cost of attending college, including through building more affordable housing, Ugo added.
California voters will have an opportunity to weigh in on one potential funding source for student housing when Proposition 1 – an $11.25 billion affordable housing bond – appears on the November ballot. The measure includes $350 million for affordable student housing, split evenly between the UC and CSU systems and is expected to support 1,200 student housing beds statewide, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
[Related: Bond with $350 million for student housing to appear on general election ballot]
“These aid programs are not designed to completely offset what happens in housing, for example, or the social safety net,” Lundy-Wagner said.
Students outside the highest levels of financial need, such as middle-income students, could face the brunt of tuition increases because they often receive less financial aid than lower-income students, Ugo said.
“You’ve seen things like the Middle Class Scholarship trying to extend that support further up the income scale for students at the UC and throughout the colleges in California,” Ugo said. “They’re (middle-income students are) the ones that are most exposed to these increased costs.”
The Middle Class Scholarship – which provides financial aid to low- and middle-income students attending California public colleges – faced some delays last year because of state budget shortfalls, according to EdSource.
At UCLA, students on the Middle Class Scholarship expected to receive the amount in late September 2025, but it was not distributed until late November, which the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office attributed to a large volume of about 11,000 recipients. Some awards remained under review into December.
[Related: Bruin Financial Aid scholarship delays, costly overawards spark frustrations]
For Phan, however, she is not just concerned about how much money the UC receives, but where that revenue goes.
“We’re really demanding that the UC decide where its priorities go,” Phan said. “The fact that we can’t get a clear answer when we ask very direct questions to the UC about why they’re not allocating money in areas that students actually need in order to have a meaningful educational experience is really concerning.”
Members of UCSA want the UC to prioritize funding for basic-needs programs, disability services and other resources that directly benefit students, Phan said. The organization has also previously advocated for the UC to maintain funding for disability services.
Phan said she is concerned that the UC’s reliance on tuition could move it toward a more privatized funding model as students face rising housing, food and transportation costs. UCSA is calling for greater transparency and student participation in decision-making about tuition and university finances, she added.
“Their (students’) tuition might be covered by scholarships and grants, but what about their groceries and their rent?” Phan said. “Those things aren’t being addressed.”
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