The Regents today are reviewing the “Accountability Report.” Above is some statistical information of interest on the sources of the UC budget, systemwide and by campus. Click on the image to see a clearer version. Source of the charts above and other related information: http://accountability.universityofcalifornia.edu/index/chapter/
In the afternoon, the Regents retreat got into the topic of differential tuition between campuses mainly, but some mention of majors as well. There didn’t seem to be much sentiment in favor of that approach. Note that at the professional school level, there is some differentiation already but that matter was not brought up. Oddly, after all the talk of uniformity of tuition, there seemed to be a more favorable attitude toward differential offerings by campus, i.e., every program didn’t have to be offered on every campus. This theme was really a follow-on to what was said about med schools…
In the discussion on health and pension costs at the Sept. 12 Regents retreat, there were a number of disturbing elements. Some regents seemed to have forgotten their own 2010 decision to go to a two tier pension but retain the basic defined benefits format. The whole defined benefit vs. defined contribution debate seemed to start up again as if it had not occurred earlier. Erroneous statements were made by one Regent that Stanford and Harvard had no pension plan, when – as was pointed out – what they have is a generous defined contribution plan (although not a defined…
The Regents had a retreat on September 12, 2012 following a public comment period. Below is an audio link to the morning sessions. Public comments dealt with various issues including concerns about the search for a new chancellor at UC-Berkeley. The retreat discussion after the public comments was budget-centered as was most of the morning and afternoon segments. The first items dealt with various financial options for improving UC cash flow and cutting certain costs related to finance. Some of the proposals involved shifting repayment of principal on debt further into the future. There was also some shifting of very…
At the Regents retreat today, everything connected to the budget was “on the table.” One unusual option presented by UCOP’s financial staff was a proposal to raise campus parking fees (thus making the parking services more valuable) and then give the UC parking system to the pension fund as a portfolio asset. Doing so would reduce the need for pension employer and employee pension contributions. The idea is a variant of a plan some cities have implemented or considered to sell their parking meters and parking lots to a private firm for an upfront payment. It was pointed out that…
We have previously posted audio excerpts from the Sept. 11, 2012 session of the Regents dealing with the UCLA hotel and the UCLA teaching center. The web source on which we park audio from the Regents is again operational so here is the full meeting, divided into two parts as per the agenda below. Tuesday, September 11, 2012 Meeting Agenda, University of California Regents Part 1 1:00 pm Committee on Compliance and Audit (Regents only session) 1:10 pm Committee of the Whole – Public Comment (open session) – includes public testimony on UCLA hotel project 1:30 pm Committee on Compliance…
We noted yesterday that the website where we usually park audio for Regents meetings, archives.org, is having a tech heart attack. Recovery is promised, maybe by the end of today. In the meanwhile, we will continue to post excerpts. After the Regents Building and Grounds Committee rubber stamped the hotel (except for bathrooms and loading docks!), it went on to consider a proposal for a new Teaching and Learning Center for the Health Sciences. The presentation was by Steve Olsen and Dean Eugene Washington of the Med School. In this case, we came close to a repeat of the March…
Normally, we would post the full audio of the Regents and then provide excerpts if helpful. However, our audio posting site, archive.org, seems to be having technical problems. So here (below) is just the audio component of today’s Regents session dealing with the proposed UCLA hotel/conference center. If archive.org continues to have problems, we will find some other work-around. As was expected, the proposal was rubber stamped by the Building and Grounds Committee after a presentation by Steve Olsen and campus architect Jeffrey Averill. There was testimony from the Save Westwood Village group during the public comment period raising 1)…
The state controller reports that tax revenue for July and August (first two months of the fiscal year) is about on target relative to the June budget estimates (although the amount collected on particular taxes from various targets deviates from the estimates, plus and minus). Disbursements, however, are up relative to budget estimates by roughly $3 billion which shows up as more borrowing by the general fund from other state funds. (Why that overage occurred is not explained.) However, the big uncertainty about the budget this year is whether the governor’s tax initiative passes in November. So far, the media…
Readers of this blog will know that public vs. private pay has been in controversy over the last few years. There is a large literature on the subject which points out that differences between the public and private sector need to be adjusted for factors such as occupational composition and size of employer. I would characterize the literature as indicating rough adjusted comparability; some studies say public pay is somewhat more; some say the reverse. Benefit valuation – particularly pensions – is the trickiest part. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts out quarterly unadjusted data on private sector pay…
