In its 1960 higher education “master plan,” California promised students that tuition at its public universities would be free. Like a city filled with flying cars, that promise never came to be.

Ten years later, then-Gov. Ronald Reagan prompted the University of California to introduce tuition-like charges — he and his allies had scaled back state support to punish the UC for tolerating student activism, and also to save taxpayer dollars. In Reagan’s view, college students shouldn’t rely on the state alone for an education that most Californians didn’t pursue.

This view of higher education as a consumer good rather than public right spread nationally —  fueled by a public tax revolt. Tuition rose rapidly. The California State University system began collecting fees in 1981, labeling them “tuition” in 2011.

Over the past half-century, student fees and tuition at UC have nearly quadrupled, adjusted for inflation, and continue to rise. At Cal State, they’ve jumped six-fold, with plans to raise tuition 6% annually for the next five years.

Yet almost 60% of California resident undergrads at UC and Cal State actually pay no tuition or systemwide fees. That’s due to an annual state financial aid program exceeding $3 billion, plus another $1.6 billion in university-run grants. A third to nearly half of the money from students who do pay flows back to fund financial aid.