Whereas, it is the duty of the Associated Students of UC Irvine (ASUCI) to advocate for student concerns; and,

Whereas, a huge number of students from the University of California (UC) need to take out loans in order to pay for higher education; and,

Whereas, tuition at the UC has increased 145% over the past decade [1]; and,

Whereas, there has been little assistance from the state for the backend costs of students burdened with student loan debt after graduation; and,

Whereas, California students graduated with an average of $20,000 of student loan debt in 2013 [2]; and,

Whereas, increases in financial aid disbursements through the Middle Class Scholarship Program (MCSP), Cal Grant, and the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan have improved the frontend cost burden of students; and,

Whereas, AB 2377 (Perez) [3] would establish the California Student Loan Refinancing Program within the California Educational Facilities Authority, enabling the authority to issue bonds for the purpose of increasing student loan refinancing options such as interest rate buy-downs, debt restructuring, etc.; and,

Whereas, AB 2377 (Perez) aims to help students with excessive student loans from private lenders who may not have resources  to the various refinance options available to address federal student loan debt; and,

Let it be resolved that, ASUCI Legislative Council formally supports CA AB 2377 (Perez); and,

Let it be finally resolved that, ASUCI Legislative Council sends copies of this resolution to: UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake; UC President Janet Napolitano; Governor Jerry Brown; UC Board of Regents; the Office of the Speaker of the Assembly, John Perez; The New University; The Los Angeles Times; and The Orange County Register.

Sources:

[1]. http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/2012/07/18/csu-and-uc-tuition-hikes-over-time/

[2]. http://projectonstudentdebt.org/state_by_state-view2013.php?area=CA

[3]. http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB2377