Students will feel the squeeze of California's budget problems as the University of California raises its tuition 9.6 percent to $12,192. UC regents voted to approve the tuition hike Thursday. The bigger tuition burden comes from California's recently signed budget plan, which cuts $650 million from the UC schools. Gov. Jerry Brown increased the cuts after talks between legislators broke down over a budget plan to raise state revenues by letting some 2009 tax cuts expire. Many people interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle worry that soaring costs of attendance will force some students out of the system and into already-impacted state schools and community colleges.

From the Chronicle:

Former UC Regent Bill Bagley, appointed by Republican Gov. George Deukmejian, contacted The Chronicle to condemn the tuition increase.

"By abdication, the Legislature has enacted a parent tax," Bagley said. "It's a massive, progressive parent tax."

UC will waive the $1,890 tuition increase for one year for students who qualify for financial aid and whose families earn between $80,000 and $120,000 a year.

But most middle-class students don't qualify for aid, and are the hardest hit by UC's rising cost.

Read more here. 

Marketplace's Amy Scott reports that this will mark the first time the UC system gets more revenue from tuition than from the state government.

It's not just the students and parents who are feeling the pinch of the budget cuts. Many UC employees on Thursday protested what they call unfair wage practices. They claim that while their budgets continue to be cut, people at the top continue to get bonuses and raises.  

Reach us here.