SAN DIEGO -- The cost of a University of California undergraduate education continues to rise.

“I’m blessed with very loving parents,” said recent UC San Diego graduate Kelly Duong.

Duong knows how tough it’s been for her family to pay her college fees.

“It was a lot of overtime work for my dad and mom -- difficult for them,” she said.

California students at UCSD can expect to pay almost $25,000 this year for fees, housing and expenses, according to the university’s Web site. That reflects a 9.3 percent increase in student fees this year, preceded by a 7.4 percent increase last year.

The University of California said that student fee increases are necessary because the cash-strapped state has reduced its funding. And it’s not just the students who will pay more; UC employees will make less.

“At this point, if I have to have an 8 percent decrease, I'm gonna have to get another job, and I already have two,” said UCSD employee Natalie Price of one of the cost-cutting measures proposed by the university this month.

Some employees said an 8 percent pay cut wouldn't be as difficult for the university's elite.

“They have other means and sources of income and other benefits that will make up for that,” said Manny Dela Paz, “whereas for us, we're just trying to struggle and make it day to day.”

“My concern is that the UC right now is a runaway train,” said California State Sen. Leland Yee.

Critics such as Yee –- a UC graduate -- accuse the university of not spending its money wisely. He cited the amount of compensation for certain executives and administrators in the UC system.

“UC ought to set an example and not be paying these high, exorbitant amount of salaries and benefits,” he said. “Some individuals are being paid $400-, $500,000 and when you add their benefits, that's another $100,000 on top of that. They are literally making more than the President of the United States.”

Recently, UC San Francisco incoming chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellman was given a $450,000 annual base salary. That's 12 percent more than what her predecessor made.

At the same time, incoming UC Davis chancellor Linda Katehi -- who is currently denying involvement with an admissions scandal brewing at her former employer, the University of Illinois -- was given a $400,000 base salary, which is 27 percent more than her predecessor.

Those salaries don't include other perks such as $100,000 for Katehi's moving allowance.

“Maybe if you go ahead and temper the raises and lower some of this cost, then you would not need to raise student fees,” said Yee.

The 10News I-Team also wondered about the 103 government and community relations lobbying staff employed by the University of California, according to UC websites. We can't tell how much they all make but these two job openings were posted in The Capitol Morning Report’s classified section: Deputy Director, Government & Community Relations, UC Berkeley, $100,000 to $110,000 annually; and Director, State Government Relations, UC Berkeley, $100,000 to $120,000 annually.

“You ought not to be spending all of these kinds of ancillary services and putting the costs on the backs of our students,” said Yee.

Yee thinks the UC system has too much independence. He has introduced Senate Constitutional Amendment 21 and Assembly Constitutional Amendment 24 to reduce UC autonomy in order to rein in exorbitant salaries and perks.

In a statement on its Web site, UC called that idea "absurd,” given the legislature's problems managing the current state budget.

A University of California spokesperson told the I-Team that UC salaries are competitive, and even lower, than those at comparable universities. As for the number of lobbyists, the university said that it is justified by the workload.