LOS ANGELES, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Members of the University of California (UC) Board of Regents approved Thursday a two-step plan to raise the in-state tuition by 32 percent in spite of the angry protests by students that have dragged on for two day.

    According to the plan, undergraduate tuition hike will be applied in two steps over two years. For the beginning, the cost will be raised by 585 dollars from next spring, and in the second phase beginning in next fall, it will further go up by 1,344 dollars. As a result, combined with a 900 dollars registration fee, an undergraduate student will have to pay 10,302 dollars in addition to other fees like housing and books, pushing the cost across the UC campus well over 10,000 dollars for the first time.

    Officials justified this decision by saying that the university is facing a 535 million dollars budget deficit as a result of state cut in education input, and the increases are necessary to narrow the gap.

    UC President Mark Yudof said by raising the tuition, his school can "restore canceled courses that students may need to graduate on time, along with some vital student services, such as more library hours."

    The voting was taking place when hundreds of students staged a protest on the campus of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where the meeting was held.

    On Wednesday, 14 protesters were detained by police and a raucous crowd were dispersed.