UC Regents Consider Health Care Related Issues
The University of California will need to increase student registration fees to address problems in the student mental health system, UC Vice President of Health Affairs Rory Hume told the board on Wednesday, the Sacramento Bee reports (Stern, Sacramento Bee, 9/21).
The student registration fee last year increased to $735 annually, after remaining at $710 annually for the previous 10 years. The registration fee funds health care, recreation and other nonacademic services that the state does not fund (Schevitz, San Francisco Chronicle, 9/21).
Hume's recommendation came after a report on mental health care at UC was presented to the board. UC medical school and campus leaders authored the report (Sacramento Bee, 9/21). It was commissioned by UC President Robert Dynes in response to a parent's request (San Francisco Chronicle, 9/21).
Hume did not recommend a specific dollar amount for the fee increase. His suggestion has not been presented as a formal proposal, according to the Bee (Sacramento Bee, 9/21).
As the next step in the process, officials at UC's 10 campuses will submit proposals for enhancing mental health services (Locke, AP/San Francisco Examiner, 9/20).
At its meeting on Wednesday, the board of regents also considered a proposal by Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D) to ban research funding from tobacco companies. Bustamante is an ex oficio regent.
The board asked the faculty to study the proposal, and regents are expected to reconsider it this winter (San Francisco Chronicle, 9/21).
In addition, Hume told the board of regents that an advisory group recommended regents' approval of UC-Riverside moving to the next phase of its planning process for a new medical school, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports. Hiring a dean would be included in the next phase.
UC-Riverside spokesperson Marcia McQuern said the full board is expected to vote on the issue in November (Agha, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 9/20).