A three-day meeting of the UC Regents in San Francisco is scheduled to end Thursday with a discussion of Governor Brown's recent budget proposal.

Brown's budget plan would increase funding for the UC system by five percent. That's less than half of what the UC says it needs.

Speaking at the Regents meeting Wednesday, the Governor said increasing online courses would institute a new financial model to help close that funding gap.

"There's a brute reality out there... It's called the gap between five and 11.6 percent growth this year and next year and the year after that. So there's not a luxury of sitting in the present trajectory. Unless you don't mind paying ever increasing tuition. "

Several Regents agreed with Brown that expanding online courses would help the 10-campus system contain costs, broaden access and hold down student fees.