SAN FRANCISCO-In an effort to improve accessibility in a time when fewer freshmen are being admitted to the university, a UC Board of Regents committee unanimously approved a $3.1 million plan to cover all systemwide fees for lower-income students.

Under the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan, passed by the Committee on Educational Policy on Wednesday, all California students whose household incomes fall beneath the state median of $60,000 a year will have their tuition fully covered by the university.

About 48,100 undergraduates would be eligible under the plan, university officials said.

The full board will vote on the plan today. If passed, it will take effect in time for the fall semester.

Although the total cost of covering all low-income students would total $355 million per year, 99 percent of this total is expected to already be covered by Cal Grants, scholarships and university grants.

This leaves the university with a tab of just $3.1 million for 2009-10. This cost would be funded by increasing the proportion of student fees that goes toward undergraduate financial aid, said UC President Mark Yudof, who proposed the plan.

The plan's current cost assumes a 9.3 percent increase in student fees for the 2009-10 academic year. However, Yudof said the university is determined to raise the money even if fees hikes are not instituted.

"We will find the money. We just have to find the money," he said. "It probably just means more cuts to the Office of the President-and we'll do it."

Currently, tuition fees account for $8,100 of the $25,300 a typical UC student pays per year.

The plan comes after the regents decided last month to curtail freshman enrollment by 2,300 students, a move that has been criticized by some as detrimental to students from a lower socioeconomic class.

Regent Monica Lozano, who spoke out against enrollment caps at a previous meeting, said the plan would make a UC education more affordable for underrepresented students.

"There are some days you just smile to be a part of this university," she said.

While members of the committee were eager to approve the plan, some students remained concerned.

"Anything like the 10 percent fee increase proposed by the state would overshadow the benefits," said Lucero Chavez, president of the University of California Student Association and a student at Boalt Hall School of Law.

But UC Berkeley senior Roberto Alcantar said the plan could make lower-income students able to focus on a four-year education, rather than struggling to pay for books and housing.

"We're in a time when it seems like education's being put aside due to the economic crisis," said Alcantar, who qualifies for the plan. "These people don't seem to understand that when you have a well-educated society … that is one of the best assets our government can invest in."

Tags: UC PRESIDENT MARK YUDOF, BLUE AND GOLD OPPORTUNITY PLAN, UC BOARD OF REGENTS