UC Berkeley Gives Tuition Price Break To Middle Class

Following the lead of several elite Ivy League schools, UC Berkeley chancellors announced yesterday that they'll be cutting tuition costs for families with annual incomes between $80,000 and $140,000. In a conference yesterday, Berkeley officials promised that tuition next fall for middle class families will not exceed 15% of their annual income, marking the first time a public university has made such a move.

The decision comes as the university took note of the fact that the number of students from low-income and wealthy families were on the rise, while middle-class numbers were dwindling. Harvard, Princeton and Yale currently offer similar programs for families with incomes up to $200,000, but experts say that Berkeley just changed the game for academic institutions nationwide. Call it a victory for the 99 percent.

The announcement also comes just months after UC Regents announced potentially tuition hikes of 16% annually, and after multiple student protests have broken out relating to tuition.

At least now school officials are listening. Berkeley chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau said yesterday, “As a public institution we feel strongly that we need to sustain and expand access across the socioeconomic spectrum.”

[NYT]
[Chron]

Demonstrators struggle with police with a barricade in front of a closed off building on the University of California, Berkeley campus, Friday,. Nov. 20, 2009, during a demonstration against university fee hikes and layoffs. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)