New fund helps students pay UC tuition while fees rise

The University of California is launching a fundraising drive to help middle-class students pay for college. The system’s president announced the campaign today.

It’s a $1 billion effort. Under the plan, students with family incomes less than $70,000 would not pay fees to attend one of the UCs.

System president Mark Yudof announced the program before a crowd of cheering teenagers at a Fresno High School. He told them that income should not bar qualified students from attending a UC school.

The push for the new fund is dubbed “Project You Can.” Yudof says he hopes to raise the money in four years.

The announcement of a break in college costs coincides with the prospect of major fee increases at the university. The UC Board of Regents meets next month to discuss raising fees by more than 30 percent. That increase would be on top of a hike of almost 10 percent the regents approved earlier this year.