Undergraduate tuition to the University of California system could rise 20.3 percent in January if the tax hikes championed by Gov. Jerry Brown don’t pass muster with voters this fall, UC Regents decided Wednesday.

At a meeting in San Francisco, UC’s governing board signed off on a plan to keep undergraduate tuition flat this fall, at $12,192 annually. But if California voters in November fail to raise taxes, UC tuition could rise in January 2013 to $14,664 annually – an increase of $2,472.

It’s a looming reality that does not sit well with students.

“I’ve had friends who have considered transferring to another school because they couldn’t afford the school anymore,” said UC Irvine senior Kevin Morita, 21, an electrical engineering major from Sacramento. “If we’re admitted to the school and we’re told what our fees will be, we should be locked into our fees. Being informed of the price increases could affect students’ decision-making process about coming to UC.”

Under the recently adopted state budget for 2012-2013, state funding for the 10-campus UC system would remain stable this fiscal year and increase by $125 million next year – on the condition that the university does not raise tuition, and Brown’s tax measures win approval.

The governor’s tax initiatives would temporarily raise sales taxes and boost income taxes on people who make more than $250,000 a year.

If the tax initiatives don’t pass, the university system would face a midyear funding reduction of $250 million, and also wouldn’t get its additional $125 million next year. That “trigger cut” would lower state funding of UC to $2.13 billion, compared with $3.26 billion in 2007-2008.

“The stakes are pretty clear,” UC spokesman Steve Montiel told the Associated Press this week. “If the initiative doesn’t pass, it would be a tough situation for the university and ultimately for the students.”

Also on Wednesday, UC Regents approved a plan to raise graduate student fees for 50 of UC’s 57 professional-degree programs. Those fee increases range from 3 percent to 35 percent.

The biggest hikes are a 23 percent increase for UC Berkeley’s MBA program; a 35 percent increase for the nursing programs at Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles and San Francisco; and a 10.1 percent increase for UCLA’s theater, film and television programs.

Other graduate programs affected range from UC Davis’ educational leadership (4.9 percent) to UC Berkeley’s public health (7 percent) to UCLA’s urban planning (7 percent).

“They’re going after the students who they think can bear a bigger debt load,” said UC Irvine graduate student Anne Kelly, 32, a Ph.D. candidate in Earth system science who would not be directly affected by the graduate-fee hikes. “It’s appalling to me that they would raise tuition for someone graduating from a public health program. How could they imagine being able to pay for it after they graduate?”

In recent years, UC has repeatedly raised tuition and made deep cuts to campus services and academic programs in response to sharp reductions in state funding. UC undergraduates now pay nearly twice as much as they did five years ago.

Separately this week, trustees for the California State University system discussed a possible 5 percent tuition increase, even as they awarded three campus presidents pay raises of up to 10 percent.

Trustees said the pay increases, amounting to a combined $84,750 annually, wouldn’t siphon money from the cash-strapped system because they will be funded entirely by campus foundations. Cal State trustees are scheduled to revisit the tuition issue again in September.

–The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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