Author: admin

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    More on the Edley Online Plan for UC

    Byadmin

    Insider Higher Ed has a lengthy story today on Dean Edley’s proposal for an online UC degree program at: http://www.insidehighered.com/layout/set/print/news/2010/08/03/california Excerpt: California DreamerAugust 3, 2010 Much of the news surrounding the University of California system has involved whether the network of universities will be able to survive its current budgetary crisis without shrinking in size or quality. In that context, it is no surprise that Christopher Edley Jr.’s plan to use online education to expand the university’s footprint “from Kentucky to Kuala Lumpur” has turned some heads — and churned some stomachs. Edley, dean of the law school at the…

  • Rising Bus Fares to UCLA: The Whole Story?

    Byadmin

    The Daily Bruin has a rather benign story today about fares rising for trips to UCLA on the various bus lines that reach it. In a sense, it is the usual tight budget story. See: http://www.dailybruin.com/articles/2010/8/2/local-buses-raise-price-to-ride/ One issue is the role of UCLA Transportation in providing the subsidized BruinGO! program for students, staff, and faculty. Several years ago, Prof. Donald Shoup did an evaluation of the program at an earlier stage. The picture he painted was less benign:http://www.sppsr.ucla.edu/calpolicy/Shouprev.pdf

  • NY Times explores college plagiarism

    Byadmin

    August 1, 2010Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age By TRIP GABRIEL NY Times At Rhode Island College, a freshman copied and pasted from a Web site’s frequently asked questions page about homelessness — and did not think he needed to credit a source in his assignment because the page did not include author information. At DePaul University, the tip-off to one student’s copying was the purple shade of several paragraphs he had lifted from the Web; when confronted by a writing tutor his professor had sent him to, he was not defensive — he just wanted to know…

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    Regents: The Bell is Ringing – UC Needs a Pension Solution

    Byadmin

    Yesterday, I noted that events are threatening to overtake the Regents on pension funding if they do not have a plan in place by the time the next governor takes over. Even the recent scandal in the City of Bell – vastly overpaid and corrupt city officials – is pushing the pension agenda. In today’s LA Times, Steve Lopez has a column entitled “Maybe we should thank Bell’s Rizzo for shedding light on pension excesses.” You can find it at: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0801-lopezcolumn-20100801,0,2585758.column Here is a quote: “Both candidates for governor, Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown, have made pension reform proposals for…

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    Two-Tier/Two-Part Pension Stew?

    Byadmin

    The latest in discussion of two-tier pension plans for the state – not specifically UC – is two-tier/two-part. That is, there would be a degraded pension for new hires which would be a mix of defined-benefit and partly defined contribution, cooked into a single plan through some formula. See the report: http://calpensions.com/2010/07/31/pension-reform-brown-picks-up-where-he-left-off/ Relevant quote by an official of a group pushing pension issues:Fritz said she has been talking to a labor representative about a “hybrid” plan. Salary up to a certain level, for example $50,000 a year, could be covered by a pension. Then any part of a salary above…

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    U of Texas Has a UCOF-Like Committee: Endorses Online Ed

    Byadmin

    Report: Shift colleges’ focus Committee suggests better use of online classes and ‘no-frills’ education By MELISSA LUDWIGSAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS An advisory committee tasked with making Texas higher education more efficient recommended Thursday that the state make better use of online courses and “no-frills” education and tie state funds to course completion rather than enrollment. Other suggestions included pushing students to finish college in four years and requiring them to complete 10 percent of their degrees outside the classroom. Mandated last year by Gov. Rick Perry, the 20-member committee of business and education leaders presented a draft report to the Texas…

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    Brown Statement on Higher Ed in California

    Byadmin

    Gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown released a plan for education. Most of it deals with K-12. However, there is a section on higher ed reproduced below. It picks up on the prisons vs. higher ed theme that the current governor sounded back in January – although there is no promise of an initiative that the governor outlined at that time. From:http://www.jerrybrown.org/sites/default/files/Education%20Plan.pdf Higher EducationThe California Master Plan was created in 1960. When I was Governor in the 1970s, the Master Plan was working far better to provide college access and success. In recent years, however, the master plan has been undermined, and…

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    Op Ed on Michigan Model in New York State

    Byadmin

    Prof. Shane White of UCFW forwarded the op ed below to me from the NY Times. It indicates something like the “Michigan Model” is at the center of a state budget debate in New York.——————– Stop Raiding the Ivory Tower By PETER D. SALINS Published: July 27, 2010 Stony Brook, N.Y. IT is not a disagreement about expenditures or taxes that is preventing the New York State Legislature from passing a 2011 budget. No, it is a piece of legislation called the Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act, which has the enthusiastic backing of Gov. David Paterson and grudging…