Budget Information
UC Law San Francisco Budget Information
UC Law San Francisco strives to provide a high-quality legal education at the lowest possible cost to students. We work to minimize financial barriers to access and strive to limit student debt burdens to the greatest extent possible. To prioritize affordability and quality, program and departmental budgets are evaluated biannually to ensure that activities advance and uphold the core mission of the law school, which is to provide a rigorous, innovative, and inclusive legal education that prepares diverse students to excel as professionals, advance the rule of law, and further justice.
Update on budget and staffing
updated Feb. 21, 2025
Chancellor & Dean David Faigman sent the following message to UC Law Staff on Feb. 20, 2025:
Dear staff colleagues,
I want to start by thanking each of you for your dedication and hard work, especially during this time of particular fiscal challenge. As CFO David Seward and I shared at the January 29th Staff Conversation with the Dean, like our public university peers, UC Law SF must grapple with a budget deficit in the context of significant fiscal challenges at the state level. My February 5th follow-up email shared further details through this website, as well as ways to offer comments. My intention throughout this process is to remain as transparent as possible, no matter how difficult the decisions are, and to create a path forward in the best interest of UC Law SF and our community.
Thanks to the creative thinking of our colleagues, we were able to achieve significant cost savings through reductions in operational budgets. That said, we can only cut so much without negatively impacting our ability to offer a high-quality legal education for our students. We are also reducing the deficit through a 7.5 percent tuition increase; but we have to limit such increases in order to keep our tuition competitive relative with that of UC peer law schools. Even with all these measures, we are still faced with a $1.7 million deficit for the next fiscal year, 2025-2026.
My hope was to solve the budget deficit without having to make staffing reductions. Unfortunately, however, the College also will need to implement limited layoffs this semester to address this budget deficit. We expect these layoffs will impact approximately a dozen staff members.
We expect that the last day of employment for those few impacted will be June 30, 2025.
Our intention is to notify all impacted employees as soon as possible. The goal is to notify affected non-represented employees by March 7, 2025. For represented employees, union contracts require the College to first meet and confer with the unions over the effects of the layoffs. We will engage in those meetings immediately. Although I hope to do so sooner, our intention is to notify all impacted represented employees no later than May 1, 2025. Represented employees with questions should contact their union representatives. Non-represented employees with questions should contact Assistant Chancellor & Dean/Chief of Staff Jenny Kwon.
I recognize that this news is upsetting and that it will cause anxiety and uncertainty. I have given nearly 40 years of my professional career to this wonderful community, and this is not the kind of news that I want to share as your dean. But again, I will continue to work through this budget hardship with as much transparency as possible.
As a reminder, there are staff resources that might be helpful during this time, including the Employee Assistance Program, and the Ombuds Office.
Sincerely,
David
Midyear Budget Update
updated Feb. 19, 2025
The College’s midyear budget process identified additional savings and revenues. Following that process, the current year (2024-25) budget shortfall is $1.8 million, and the shortfall for the 2025-26 fiscal year is projected at $1.7 million.
Background and Context
updated Jan. 30, 2025
Chief Financial Officer David Seward prepared a slideshow dated January 2025 that outlines some budget details. Slides from the presentation can be found here.
The preliminary budget presented to the Board of Directors’ Finance Committee in August 2024 for the current fiscal year (2024-25) identified an operating deficit of $3.9 million. The Finance Committee directed the administration to develop a plan that would achieve a balanced budget over a two-year period and identify funding where strategic investment could be made to improve institutional quality and the student experience.
At its September 2024 meeting, the UC Law SF Board of Directors approved the plan to eliminate the deficit over a two-year period and reallocate existing resources for high-priority institutional needs. With the adoption of the plan, the College instituted measures to reduce the 2024-25 deficit, by $1 million, to about $2.9 million.
For fiscal year 2025-26, additional revenue enhancements and operating cost reductions are in process. The guiding principle in making these reductions is to protect the instructional program and student-facing programs while aligning tuition cost closer, but still below, UC benchmarks.
Specific changes from the plans included:
- $1 million in departmental cost reductions
- Moving positions to nonstate funding
- A 7.5% increase in the JD General Enrollment Fee
- Larger increases in nonresident tuition and the MSL and LLM enrollment fees
The Board approved the College’s plan to preserve compensation increases set to become effective with the January 2025 pay-period, recognizing the importance of fair compensation levels to faculty and staff.
For a summary of all revenues, please click here.
To see how the College distributes core funds (state and tuition money), please click here.
Budget Outlook
updated Jan. 30, 2025
The College’s budget planning for 2025-26 assumes levels of funding from the State of California that will not fully cover the anticipated deficit.
Those funding levels are described in the Governor’s 2025-26 Budget Plan — which calls for the College to plan for a 7.95% reduction in ongoing General Fund support. The plans says:
The Budget maintains statewide efficiency reductions included in the 2014 Budget Act intended to address ongoing statewide General Fund budget pressures. As a result, and as indicated in the 2024 Budget Act, the College of the Law, San Francisco should continue planning for a reduction of 7.95 percent in ongoing General Fund support, approximately $1.8 million, beginning in the 2025-26 fiscal year.
It’s also important to note that the state’s budget plan was produced before the Southern California wildfires. The final state budget may vary.
The College is currently planning for the 7.95% reduction ($1.8 million) as specified by the state.
Additional State Budget Information
updated Jan. 30, 2025
UC Law SF continues to confront fiscal challenges comparable to law schools and state and local agencies throughout the State of California. For 2023-24, the state only funded 18% of UC Law SF’s budget. State funds have, on average, declined steadily over time. Inflation also puts financial pressures on the College. Looking to the future, state funding levels are uncertain as California grapples with a multibillion-dollar deficit that is projected to go into 2025-26.
Fee Comparison
updated Jan. 30, 2025
In 2023-24, 18% of UC Law SF’s budget was funded by the state. The General Enrollment Fee remained flat from 2012-13 through 2021-22. A 3% fee increase was approved in 2022-23 after a ten-year period of General Enrollment Fee stability, followed by a 5% fee increase for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic year.
| Yearly JD Student Fees | General Enrollment Fee | Nonresident Tuition | Activity Fee | Health Services Fee | Student Health Insurance | MBE Support Fee | Total Resident | Total Nonresident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | $43,486 | $6,000 | $82 | $618 | $3,448 | not charged | $47,634 | $53,634 |
| 2014-15 | $43,486 | $6,000 | $82 | $618 | $4,149 | not charged | $48,335 | $54,335 |
| 2015-16 | $43,486 | $6,000 | $82 | $633 | $4,437 | not charged | $48,638 | $54,638 |
| 2016-17 | $43,486 | $6,000 | $82 | $650 | $4,753 | not charged | $48,971 | $54,971 |
| 2017-18 | $43,486 | $6,000 | $157 | $683 | $4,774 | not charged | $49,100 | $55,100 |
| 2018-19 | $43,486 | $6,000 | $157 | $683 | $4,684 | not charged | $49,010 | $55,010 |
| 2019-20 | $43,486 | $6,000 | $157 | $717 | $5,058 | $120 | $49,538 | $55,538 |
| 2020-21 | $43,486 | $6,000 | $157 | $865 | $5,130 | $120 | $49,610 | $55,610 |
| 2021-22 | $43,486 | $6,000 | $157 | $965 | $5,202 | $120 | $49,930 | $55,930 |
| 2022-23 | $44,792 | $6,420 | $157 | $965 | $5,240 | $120 | $51,273 | $57,693 |
| 2023-24 | $47,031 | $6,934 | $157 | $965 | $5,867 | $120 | $53,513 | $60,447 |
| 2024-25 | $49,383 | $7488 | $157 | $965 | $6590 | $120 | $57,215 | $64,703 |
| 2025-26* | $53,087 | 8,686 | $157 | $965 | $6,590 | $120 | $60,919 | $69,605 |
*proposed
For 2024-25, total UC Law SF fees are lower any other law school in the UC system. The average resident fee for four of the UC law schools is $66,461, UC Law SF’s fee is 14% lower. Similarly, UC Law SF nonresident tuition is lower than any UC.
Law school fees for the JD program assessed at other comparable law schools
For the 2025-26 academic year, the General Enrollment Fee will increase to $53,087 (a change of $3,704 or 7.5%). The surcharge applied for Nonresident Tuition will increase to $8,686 (a change of $1,198 or 16%). To mitigate the impact of these changes, one-third of the new revenue will be earmarked for need- and merit-based financial aid awards.
Fees for the LL.M., MSL, and HPL programs will also be increasing in the upcoming year, to assist in narrowing budget shortfalls.
For 2025-26, a fee of $55,000 is proposed for the LL.M. program, representing an increase of $7,500 (16%) from the current fee of $47,500. For 2025-26, a fee of $45,000 is proposed for the MSL program, representing an increase of $6,000 (15%) from the current fee of $39,000.
UC Law SF’s fees will remain the lowest among law schools in the UC system, with the total 8.8% below average UC charges in the current year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Phase 1 of the 100 McAllister seismic and safety updates is funded with a $90 million grant from the State of California; these funds have been supplemented with $9.1million in institutional funds drawn from building reserves and investment income. Financing for Phase 2 is currently being pursued.
Construction of the 198 McAllister building was funded from the proceeds of by $364 million in tax-exempt bonds excluding $2.8 million spent on owner-furnished technology as well as furniture for academic, administrative and amenity spaces which were funded from building reserves. Debt service is supported by project revenues.