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Police at the University of California, Los Angeles have arrested 14 demonstrators, mostly students, and dispersed many others who were protesting to a rise in tuition fees.

An estimated 500 protesters repeatedly interrupted a UC Regents board meeting deliberating a 32 percent hike in undergraduate tuition fees - a move which was ultimately approved.

Some protesters planned to remain at UCLA as part of a 24-hour peaceful demonstration until the full board meeting which is scheduled to put the move to vote on Thursday.

The students were holding banners protesting the increase and shouting, "Cut from the top!"

Tuition at UC campuses would increase by $585 in the spring, and then another $1,344 next fall.

The university system is currently facing a $535 million budget deficit, and UC officials say the increases are needed to close the gap.

Protesters said they believed the board could choose an even approach so that the students would not have to bear all the burden.

"It's going to prevent a lot of students from low-income families to be able to afford to come to this university," Leah Johnson, a UCLA undergraduate student told CNN. "If there's a public university, it is supposed to represent the public."

The Campus Police say the arrested protesters would be booked for unlawful assembly.