Author: admin

governor | LAO | State Budget | UC budget crisis

Budget from Hell Coming Back
Byadmin February 3, 2011

Before Gov. Brown delivered his budget proposal in early January, it was speculated that he would follow a “Budget from Hell” strategy. Under that approach, he would have presented a budget on the assumption that no tax extensions were approved. Having seen Hell, voters would (presumably) gratefully vote for the tax extensions as the path out of Hell. In the end, however, he did not follow that approach. Instead, his budget was premised on the tax extensions being approved. When asked, he said that he did not believe in scare tactics – or at least he did not think scare…

Read More Budget from Hell Coming Back
CSU | tuition | UC

Tuition Chart
Byadmin February 2, 2011

The chart above from the Sacramento Bee shows the trend in tuition at UC and CSU since the 1960s. Source: http://blogs.sacbee.com/the-public-eye/2011/01/csu-uc-fees-outpace-inflation.html It’s just love from the state at work:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSFnyiIrPM0&w=480&h=390]

Read More Tuition Chart
UCLA

More UCLA Undergrads Reported to Graduate On Time: Higher Tuition Cited
Byadmin February 1, 2011

Yesterday’s Daily Bruin carries a report that 4-year graduation rates are rising at UCLA. Excerpts from the article below:Statistics show increase in undergraduate students who graduate in four years Crystal Hsing, Jan. 31, 2011 In the past year, the proportion of undergraduate students who finished their degrees in four years rose to an all-time high of 70 percent. The increase in the four-year graduation rate is tied to many factors, including the rising cost of education, the administration’s initiatives to streamline academic curricula, and increased competition among applicants, said Robert Cox, the manager for institutional research at the UCLA Office…

Read More More UCLA Undergrads Reported to Graduate On Time: Higher Tuition Cited
governor | State Budget

Governor’s State of the State Speech Focuses Mainly on Budget
Byadmin February 1, 2011

Gov. Brown’s State of the State speech earlier tonight focused mainly on the state budget. There are occasional references to the University and one to public pensions. Part 1[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quUukeQHXW4] Part 2[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_q7gVFS0UM]

Read More Governor’s State of the State Speech Focuses Mainly on Budget
pension | pensions | State Contribution | uc retirement

Moody’s Evidently Thinks the State Has an Obligation for the UC Pension
Byadmin January 31, 2011

Calpensions.com is reporting that Moody’s is counting state (any state, not just California) pension debt, along with regular bond debt, in calculating total obligations. Presumably, this sum will be considered in rating bonds. I imagine most folks will take this as Bad News. But note that UC has struggled to get the state to acknowledge that it had a liability for the UC pension. The state is making contributions to its other major pension plans, CalPERS and CalSTRS, but it is not doing anything for UC, forcing the University to divert resources from its general operations. Thanks to efforts of…

Read More Moody’s Evidently Thinks the State Has an Obligation for the UC Pension
State Budget | UC budget crisis

UC Testimony on Cost Savings Before Assembly Committee on Higher Ed: 1-18-11
Byadmin January 30, 2011

The chair of the UC-Berkeley Academic Senate, UC VP Peter Taylor, and a student representative testified on steps UC is taking to cut costs and improve efficiency. (This hearing is the same one at which an LAO staffer testified as shown in a prior post on this blog.) There was discussion of such things as online courses and centralization of various campus support functions. You can see the testimony in two parts below: Part 1: UC-Berkeley Senate Chair Part 2: Administration & Student

Read More UC Testimony on Cost Savings Before Assembly Committee on Higher Ed: 1-18-11
governor | pension | pensions | State Budget | uc retirement

Why the UC Pension Reform May Be Undone
Byadmin January 30, 2011

Pension reform – finally? John Diaz, San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 30, 2011 Until very recently, all but a few lonely politicians had one of three reactions to the topic of pension reform: glazed eyes, denial or lip service. But that was before the revelations that top dogs in tiny working-class Bell were pillaging the town treasury for their personal gain, before 36 University of California executives threatened legal action to prevent the state from calculating their pension on a $245,000 limit instead of their actual stratospheric salaries and before the governor’s new budget asked Californians to brace for deeper budget…

Read More Why the UC Pension Reform May Be Undone
LAO | Master Plan | State Budget | UC budget crisis

CA Assembly Committee Hears LAO Report on Higher Ed & Master Plan: 1-18-11
Byadmin January 29, 2011

Testimony by an LAO staffer to the Assembly Committee on Higher Ed, Jan. 18, 2011, can be heard below in two parts: Part 1: Part 2:

Read More CA Assembly Committee Hears LAO Report on Higher Ed & Master Plan: 1-18-11
miscellaneous | UCLA

Byadmin January 28, 2011

Then Vice-Chancellor (later Chancellor) Charles Young deals with student demonstrators in 1965. UCLA History Project.

Read More
Master Plan

The Master Plan
Byadmin January 28, 2011

An article on the history of the Master Plan for Higher Ed has appeared aimed at challenging the standard history. Revisionist Reflections on California’s Master Plan @50 John Aubrey Douglass, University of California, Berkeley Summary: The 1960 Master Plan:• Is not the creation of one man, Clark Kerr, but the result of negotiations based on earlier innovations and planning studies • Did not create the tripartite system, invent existing mission differentiation, or seriously alter the allocation of function • Did not expand California’s commitment to mass higher education. The Master Plan shifted future enrollment demand to CCC, actually reducing access…

Read More The Master Plan