Author: admin

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    The Visit

    Byadmin

    This might come in handy. From the Daily Bruin: University of California President Janet Napolitano will meet with more than a dozen UCLA students Friday to discuss several student concerns, such as undocumented student demands for Napolitano, revenue solutions for the UC and support for graduate students. The committee of students invited to talk with Napolitano over lunch include UCLA undergraduate and graduate student government representatives, as well as student leaders from the Muslim Student Association, Bruins for Israel and the undocumented student group, Improving Dreams, Equality, Access and Success, known as IDEAS, said Avi Oved, internal vice president of…

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    State Budget Update

    Byadmin

    The chart title from the latest state controller’s cash report is fine.  But the bars may be confusing.  The first bar on the left tells you that revenue fell short of the budget forecast in July by $306.4 million.  July is the first month of the fiscal year.  The middle bar, although labeled August, actually is the July-August combination.  And the September bar is the result for the first quarter of the fiscal year, July+August+September.  It tells you that that despite an initial lag in revenues, the first quarter came in more or less as forecast. There is a bit…

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    Health Plan Change Worries at UC

    Byadmin

    If he’s worried now, wait ’til he gets his open enrollment package. Chronicle of Higher Ed takes note of UC employee concerns about changes in the UC health plans: The University of California is overhauling its systemwide health-insurance plans to save on costs and better align with the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act, but some employees are angry over indications that they’ll be paying more just to keep their existing level of service. System officials say that the changes are needed to avoid looming cost increases and that, in most cases, employees who pick the plan that is right for…

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    Coming attraction

    Byadmin

    Apparently, we’re soon to be in the picture business.  From the UCLA Newsroom:   The UCLA Health System and the Motion Picture and Television Fund have signed a letter of intent that would bring MPTF’s six outpatient health centers under the UCLA umbrella. This partnership between two of Los Angeles’ iconic institutions will mean that entertainment industry members and their families can continue to get health care at MPTF facilities, with the added advantage of being able to access UCLA’s world-renowned specialty care and inpatient services… After completing a definitive agreement and securing board approval, the MPTF and UCLA plan to integrate the two operations in…

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    MOOc comes to Harvard Business School

    Byadmin

    From Bloomberg BusinessWeek: Harvard Business School is quietly developing its first online learning initiative, which it hopes will make HBS the world’s top provider of high quality online business education. The move has the potential to shake up the nascent online education market and give the elite business school a toehold  in the world of MOOCs, or massive open online courses.  It’s a high-stakes gamble for HBS, which has one of the world’s best-known—and carefully burnished—educational brands. John Fernandes, the chief executive of the business school accreditation group Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, called Harvard’s move a “watershed”…

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    A different kind of student sit-in and a modest proposal

    Byadmin

    It may not be quite so much fun. From the Daily Bruin today: A total of three students will be able to sit on committees during the UC Board of Regents meeting next month, which some say is still not enough to fully represent the student voice. The newest student to join the discussion, Vanessa Garcia of UC San Diego, will attend the meeting as a student observer, a new position established by UC officials after receiving a request from the University of California Student Association, an activist coalition of UC students. Regents members and UC administrators hold committee meetings…

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    Nobel Sharing

    Byadmin

    These days, Nobel prizes are often shared among researchers.  It’s interesting that those who win Nobel prizes are also shared among universities. From the UCLA Newsroom: UCLA alumnus Randy Schekman, a professor of molecular and cell biology at UC Berkeley, has won the 2013 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for his role in figuring out how proteins are secreted and transported in human cells. He shares the prize with James E. Rothman of Yale University and Thomas C. Südhof of Stanford University for solving the mystery of how the cell organizes its transport system. Schekman became the seventh UCLA…

  • Email Virus: Don’t Pay the Ransom! (It will only make things worse.)

    Byadmin

    Authorities locally and nationwide are cautioning Internet users of a new trend in computer viruses known as “ransomware,” which take control of victims’ computers and demand a ransom to restore the users’ data. They have different names, such as Reveton or Crypto Locker, and they attempt to extort money from victims by encrypting or blocking access to their data without their knowledge, then demanding a ransom in order to undo the damage, according to police and FBI officials… In August, the FBI issued a similar warning regarding a ransomware virus known as “Reveton,” which scams victims by purporting to be…

  • Things to Come?

    Byadmin

    From the Chronicle of Higher Ed: The government shutdown that began last week is already taking a toll on higher education, despite assurances from policy makers that colleges and students would be largely spared in the short term. Research projects have been interrupted, academic meetings have been postponed or canceled, and some students are being urged to put off their educations until the federal-budget impasse ends. Such disruptions will only multiply as the shutdown drags on… So far, the shutdown has not affected Pell Grants or student loans, the cornerstones of the federal student-aid system. That’s because the programs are…

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    UC Health Union Says It Will Take Strike Vote

    Byadmin

    Union Demonstration against imposed terms, July 26, 2013 First, some legalities and background: Last summer, UC declared an impasse in its negotiations with AFSCME 3299, the union that held a two-day strike in the spring.  Under state law governing collective bargaining (a statute for UC and CSU known as HEERA), once an impasse exists, an employer can unilaterally impose terms and conditions.  Note that the determination of an impasse can be fuzzy.  In this case, the union filed unfair labor practice charges against UC in connection with the dispute and strike. The charges involve interrogation of particular employees about their…