The University of California’s Board of Regents recent announcement that undergraduate tuition fees will spike by 32% for the 2010-2011 academic year ignited a string of protests on U.C. campuses. Convening at the UCLA campus, the Board was greeted by protesters as some students barricaded themselves inside a university building while others camped out in a tent village. A dozen students were arrested for attempting to disrupt the meeting and when some board members attempted to leave the campus, they were met with angry students shouting “Shame!”

Facing an unprecedented budget crunch, the state has instituted drastic cuts across the board, and the California’s public education system has been hit hard.  Some critics of the Board of Regents latest edict voice concern that the cuts will compromise a university system with a worldwide reputation for excellence.  At Berkley, a premiere U.C. campus, the dean of the College of Chemistry went on record, calling the latest cuts “a stupendously stupid thing to do”, citing that a loss of resources would result in a loss of quality faculty and students with a resulting loss in the universities reputation for excellence in research.

For many students, the fee hikes put may put their educations at risk – especially minority and immigrant populations that are not eligible for financial aid.  Citing the strain these increases would put on his migrant farm worker parents, one student – the first in his family to attend college – worried about his younger sibling who “might have to work in the fields, too, if this becomes so expensive.”

This crisis in education is not isolated to California. Many public universities are struggling to balance a commitment to serve the widest population and deliver quality education while coping with dramatic cutbacks in state aid.  At U.C. schools, library hours have been cut back, instructors and other staff have been furloughed, and there have been cutbacks in the ranks of teaching assistants.

Many college-bound students are looking for alternatives to ‘bricks and mortar’ campuses. On-line colleges are earning high marks for offering degrees in a wide range of subjects.  Using email, Skype-like programs and other communications tools, students find faculty members to be easily accessible. Many professors at on-line universities encourage their students to use these same tools to form study groups and develop class esprit.  Tuition fees are considerably less than traditional degree programs, and financial aid packages are available for many students.  In addition, on line programs are flexible; students create their own schedules, allowing many to incorporate work and study.

President Obama has made his ‘cradle to career’ commitment to education reform clear:  the opportunity to earn a college degree must be available to all our citizens.  On line colleges and distanced learning programs like the ones found on at Top Colleges are expanding that opportunity to a growing student population.