UC raises tuition $135 per quarter...

UC raises tuition $135 per quarter

The University of California Board of Regents on Monday approved a

$135-per-quarter student fee increase for the spring, officials said.

The hike is prompted by a $74-million cut to the UC system that

Gov. Gray Davis proposed this month. UC schools face a $480-million

shortfall, which is expected to grow, officials said.

The increases are the first in eight years, officials said.

Undergraduates now pay $3,429 a year, while graduate students pay

$3,609.

Hikes will be higher for certain programs -- $150 for nursing; $250 for pharmacy and optometry; $350 for veterinary medicine; and

$400 for medicine, business, law and dentistry. Fees in 2004 may also

change.