Regents delay action on professional fees

The University of California Board of Regents has postponed its planned discussion of graduate professional program fees at the request of Gov. Jerry Brown.

The board was set to take up the subject on Wednesday during the second day of its three-day meeting at UC San Francisco’s Mission Bay campus, but Brown asked for more time to fully understand the fee-setting process.

Brown plans to take part in the meeting, according to UC. Agenda items include approving a 2013-14 budget, but no action is planned on systemwide undergraduate tuition or fees.

Professional degree supplemental tuition is charged to graduate students across 57 programs in 32 disciplines. Four more programs are asking to join that number.

Proposed fee increases — which were set counting on Prop. 30’s passage – range from no increase to 35 percent, depending on the program.

Six programs plan to ask for increases of 10.1 percent or more: the system’s four nursing programs (35 percent), public policy at UC Irvine (20.1 percent) and theater, film and television at UCLA.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, the California State University trustees opted to take more time to consider a plan to charge incentive fees meant to encourage students to graduate more quickly — including a $372-per-unit fee for “super seniors” who have amassed more than 160 credits.

CSU leaders have taken fire for considering the proposal after the passage of Prop. 30, which spared higher education from further deep cuts. It allowed CSU to drop a $249-per-semester increase that went into effect this fall.

Brown and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom were scheduled to attend that meeting in Long Beach.