News

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Take a Hike (in Tuition)?

Byuclafaculty

From today’s LA Times: Faced with flagging state funding and a $1-billion budget hole, University of California officials on Monday proposed several actions to preserve programs and stabilize finances, including far-reaching pension reforms and an 8% student fee increase for next school year. Under the plan, undergraduate student fees for 2011-12 would rise by $822 to $11,124 annually — about $12,150 when campus-based fees are included. Some professional school fees would also rise, depending on campus and program. The fee hikes would generate about $180 million in annual revenue. The UC Board of Regents will consider the plan when it…

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What Jerry Promised

Byuclafaculty

California Watch has a summary of Jerry Brown’s “promises” concerning higher ed (and looks at the prospect for higher tuition). Below are the promises listed as summarized in the article: Jerry Brown’s higher education promises: Convene a “representative group” to create a new higher education Master Plan: “This situation calls for a major overhaul of many components of the postsecondary system. We need to convene a representative group to create a new state Master Plan.” Create an online “extended university” program: “The introduction of online learning and the use of new technologies should be explored to the fullest, as well…

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Boomerang Recruitment: UC-Berkeley Wins Two Back from UT-Austin

Byuclafaculty

Berkeley’s allure tugs faculty couple back from Texas (excerpt) By Matt KrupnickContra Costa TimesPosted: 11/02/2010 12:00:00 AM PDTUpdated: 11/07/2010 10:56:59 PM PST BERKELEY — They sold the house, took their son out of day care, packed up all their belongings and left for a new life at the University of Texas. Then, a year later, Jennifer Johnson-Hanks and William Hanks turned around and came right back to UC Berkeley, a rare boomerang move for professors who leave a campus. “We liked Austin, but it wasn’t home,” said Johnson-Hanks, a demographer and sociologist who was hired at UC Berkeley for her…

Minority Success in Graduation Rates Reported at UC-Riverside

Byuclafaculty

UC RIVERSIDE: Diversity is more than numbers (excerpt) Sunday, November 7, 2010 By DAVID OLSON The Riverside Press-Enterprise After Obi Okafor found out he had been accepted to four University of California campuses, he did some research. “I went online to look at the demographic spread and saw that UCR had the highest African-American student population,” Okafor said. “I felt that was where I would feel more comfortable going to school.” High-achieving black students such as Okafor illustrate why UC Riverside has earned a national reputation not only for enrolling a large number of black and Latino pupils but for…

Are You Tweeting (in Class)?

Byuclafaculty

Inside Higher Ed reviews the Twitter, etc., issue. Excerpt: Harnessing Social Media November 8, 2010 ORLANDO — In the age of social media, everyone is behind on the reading. There was always more potentially relevant information out in the world than people could ever hope to know. But Twitter, Facebook, social bookmarking sites, and countless other content streams and conversation threads — constantly available in the era of wireless networks and mobile computing — have thrust many in academe into an endless, unwinnable race to keep up… Beyond limiting the distractions of social media in their own lives, academics face…

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CalSTRS can apparently wait to cut its estimated investment return to UC level

Byuclafaculty

From the Sacramento Bee: The CalSTRS board Friday postponed a crucial decision on reducing its investment-return forecast because two of its members were absent. Jack Ehnes, chief executive of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, said the board wanted every one of its 12 members present for the decision. The vote is now set for Dec. 2. CalSTRS’ staff has recommended that the forecast of annual returns be cut by half a percentage point, to 7.5 percent… Note that if CalSTRS and CalPERS eventually go to our 7.5%, we can no longer claim to be more conservative than the two…

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LAO publishes budget review

Byuclafaculty

The Legislative Analyst’s Office released a summary of budget developments up through the passage of the 2010-11 budget last month. It is not, however, a projection of what is to come. That analysis is likely to be coming later this month. Nonetheless, for those interested in the details, the summary is available at http://www.lao.ca.gov/reports/2010/bud/spend_plan/spend_plan_110510.pdf The report takes note of the fact that the earlier legislation in which the state claimed no responsibility for the UC pension has been removed. (The UCLA Faculty Assn. proudly notes its part in getting that accomplished. See earlier posts for info on the role played…