UCSF Graduate Student Parents Demand Return of Childcare Grant

Graduate students say they feel misled into choosing to study at UCSF following the University administration’s sudden decision last summer to rescind childcare funding. 

A petition demanding the return of the need-based childcare grant program has garnered over 100 signatures. Students who signed the petition said they relied on the grant to support their families in the Bay Area’s high cost-of-living, and it was one of the main reasons they chose to pursue graduate studies at UCSF.

“In the fall of 2023, we were finally going to plan to expand our family, but we instead found out that the childcare grant would be replaced with a retroactive compensation plan that would not cover even a month of childcare,” Alexis Villani, a 5th year graduate student in Tetrad and parent of a 5-year-old, stated in the petition. “San Francisco is not an affordable city for families and the greatest appeal of attending UCSF for graduate school was this childcare grant.”

According to data analyses by PayScale, the cost of living in San Francisco is 182% higher than the national average, with utility and transportation both ranging from 40% to 50% higher than peer cities. And according to the Children’s Council of San Francisco,  the annual cost of childcare within the city is estimated at nearly $30,000, representing the most significant cost for families after housing. 

Now, students are saying that the unexpected removal of the childcare grant has made them uncertain of their future at UCSF.

“The reimbursement system that replaced it only accounts for only 30% of my son’s daycare fees reimbursed every quarter,” Alonso Torres, a 5th year graduate student in BioE, stated in the petition.

Students also expressed frustration at the response from Graduate Division administration.

“They said that the grievance had no standing because the number of parents is not ‘significant and consequential’ at UCSF, “ said Greg Mohl, a former Tetrad graduate student & current UCSF postdoc.

In response to an email inquiry by Synapse, Graduate Division Dean Dr. Niquet Blake, stated that she was aware of the issue but had not seen the petition herself. She added that the issue will be discussed during the graduate council meeting on October 17.