News

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Regents Go Off UCOP Script

Byuclafaculty

Maybe next time, UCOP might try to put the Regents meeting at the above location rather than at UC-SF. See below: UC regents balk at mandating annual tuition hikes (excerpts) Nanette Asimov, San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 16, 2011 San Francisco — The University of California regents dodged a controversy Thursday by ignoring a proposal from UC President Mark Yudof that would have mandated annual tuition increases of 8 to 16 percent for the next four years. Instead, the regents turned their meeting at UCSF’s Mission Bay campus into a therapy session of sorts, gnashing their teeth about the steep drop…

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Making Money?

Byuclafaculty

Above are two charts prepared for the Regents meeting which show the rates of return for various investment funds. You can see on the lower slide that UCRP (pension) has earned around 5% per annum over the last ten years ending June 30, 2011. That is less than the assumed rate of 7.5%. The upper slide shows an annual rate of 9.35% over twenty years, above the assumed long-term 7.5% rate. (Also shown on the lower slide are the rates for the GEP = General Endowment Pool and the STIP = Short Term Investment Pool.) The full set of charts…

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SF Chron Editorial on UC

Byuclafaculty

UC tuition no longer a bargain Sept. 14, 2011, San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Fed up with indecision and drift, the University of California is serving notice: Barring a miracle, tuition could nearly double over the next four years to more than $22,000. Don’t anyone miss the point: California’s finances and political priorities don’t favor higher education. That means the vaunted university system needs to fend for itself by asking students and their families to fill the gaps left by indifferent Sacramento. UC is at a tipping point… What’s under way is a shift in the university’s mission and character. It…

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Graduate Tuition to Rise?

Byuclafaculty

As noted in the prior blog post, the Regents are meeting this week. One item before them is a report on graduate student tuition and sources of support. You can see one typical graphic from that report above. The report concludes: Next Steps for Graduate Tuition Increases The enormous shortfall in State support of the University’s budget has required the University to make difficult and painful choices. Tuition increases have been used as a last resort to preserve the quality of a UC education. To date, the University has adopted a strategy of across-the-board tuition increases for all students –…

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Look for UC Exec Pay Headlines Soon

Byuclafaculty

The Regents are meeting this week. (We expect to have the audio of the prior meeting up soon on this site. Eventually, we will have the audio for this one, too.) Anyway, look for headlines about senior executive pay at UC in the next day or so. One of the items on the Regents’ agenda today: The last comprehensive study conducted on compensation for chancellors was completed in 2008. Given changes in market hiring practices, due to the mounting economic pressures on universities nationwide to watch expenses while still recruiting and retaining leadership, an updated comprehensive study of chancellors’ pay…

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Digital Lawsuit Includes UC

Byuclafaculty

Inside Higher Ed reports that UC is among various universities being sued for digitizing “orphan books” (books whose copyrights appear to have expired). It provides a link to the plaintiff’s press release: Authors Guild, Australian Society of Authors, Quebec Writers Union Sue Five U.S. Universities: Suit seeks impoundment of unauthorized scans of 7 million books September 12, 2011. This afternoon, we filed suit against HathiTrust, the University of Michigan and four other universities over their storage and use of millions of copyright-protected books. The press release follows: AUTHORS AND AUTHORS’ GROUPS FROM AUSTRALIA, QUEBEC, THE U.K., AND U.S. SUE HATHITRUST,…

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Up, Up, and Away

Byuclafaculty

Under plan, UC tuition could rise by 16% a year Nanette Asimov, San Francisco Chronicle September 13, 2011 The University of California would raise student tuition by at least 8 percent – or as much as 16 percent – every year through 2016 under a plan that UC leaders will propose to the regents Thursday in San Francisco. Basic tuition could top $22,000 in just four years, not including other mandatory fees, books, room and board, if the regents adopt the idea at their November meeting as part of a multiyear budget plan. Undergraduate tuition is currently $12,192. UC officials…

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Getting China Money for Online Ed at UC?

Byuclafaculty

UC investing millions in new cyber studies program Nanette Asimov, San Francisco Chronicle, September 12, 2011 The University of California will unveil its first top-tier cyber courses in January – 26 online offerings, from global climate change to game theory. At the same time, it’s eyeing China and even American soldiers as potential sources of cash to pay for them… Economically, the online venture is equally experimental. Its most vigorous proponent, UC Berkeley Law School Dean Christopher Edley, expected to raise $6 million for the pilot program, but attracted just $748,000 in private funds. Rather than abandon the effort, UC…

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Email Speech

Byuclafaculty

There is an interesting article today in Inside Higher Ed concerning a controversy at the U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign regarding proposed limits on the use of university email and limits on use of non-university email accounts for university business. In the background of these issues are requests for emails at public universities by conservative groups, using state-level equivalents of the federal Freedom of Information Act. (California has such a law.) You can find the article at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/09/12/controversy_over_e_mail_policy_proposed_at_u_of_illinois It contains links to an AAUP letter protesting the proposed policies.