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Napolitano Proposes UC Tuition Freeze In First Address To Regents

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — University of California President Janet Napolitano proposed a tuition freeze on Wednesday for the 2014-2015 school year in her first address to the Board of Regents as leader of the system.

The freeze was among four ideas she presented at the meeting in San Francisco that she said are intended to push the system into the future.

She also wants to make UC a zero-net energy user by 2025; streamline community college transfers; and improve the process so research innovations hit the market more quickly.

Napolitano said the freeze would give the university system time to create a new fee policy.

"Tuition cuts right to the heart of accessibility and affordability — two of the university's guiding stars," she told the regents, adding later: "I want tuition to be as low as possible and I want it to be as predictable as possible."

Napolitano, the former secretary of Homeland Security, spent the past six weeks in her new job visiting many of the system's 10 campuses. She is the first female president of the University of California.

(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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