Refund UC Campus Fees for Spring 2020

The Issue

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, colleges across the country have instructed students to return home from school to complete their spring coursework online remotely and to promote social distancing. With this decision, students are unable to access the amenities provided on-campus by their universities. In California, UC students pay hundreds of dollars per term in campus fees for access to things like recreation facilities, school-sponsored activities, athletics, university centers, and transportation. None of these facilities or activities will be available to students for the upcoming spring quarter, as many have moved off-campus, and even for those who have stayed, most facilities will be closed for the foreseeable future and all events have been cancelled in an effort to limit the spread of the virus. These actions are understandable, even commendable, as California continues to lead the nation in responding to the virus. However, when students already pay over twelve thousand dollars in mandatory tuition and fees each year, these additional campus-specific fees cannot be justified since students will not be able to take advantage of the services they are intended to provide. Especially in this time of unprecedented uncertainty, students and their families need as much liquidity as possible under the threat of lost jobs and reduced hours. Continuing to nickel and dime students in the midst of a pandemic is unjust and unacceptable.

We call on UC President Janet Napolitano, the UC Board of Regents, and Governor Newsom to refund these fees to students if they have already been paid for the term or remove them from upcoming billing statements if they have not yet. UC students and their families are already hurting from this crisis, and paying fees for amenities and activities that they will not have access to is just insult added to injury. Additionally, we call on Governor Newsom and the California State Assembly and Senate to pass legislation to pay workers who have had their hours or wages reduced because of the lack of working opportunities because of the coronavirus outbreak. All workers deserve to live in dignity, and these university employees need to be able to pay bills, make rent, and buy food during this crisis.

The estimated campus-based student fees for each UC campus are listed below. These fees cover recreation facilities like gyms and pools, student activities, athletics, and common areas like university centers and student unions. None of these will be accessible to students during this crisis, and the hundreds of dollars that students and their families will spend on them can be much better used to pay for food and housing as students and their parents and extended families are affected.