News

miscellaneous

Who Knows What the Shadow Writes (and Chats)?
Byadmin November 16, 2010

The Chronicle of Higher Ed is oddly promoting a guy who ghost-writes student term papers. He is termed The Shadow in the account. Excerpt: …Ed Dante is a pseudonym for a writer who lives on the East Coast. Through a literary agent, he approached The Chronicle wanting to tell the story of how he makes a living writing papers for a custom-essay company and to describe the extent of student cheating he has observed. In the course of editing his article, The Chronicle reviewed correspondence Dante had with clients and some of the papers he had been paid to write….

Read More Who Knows What the Shadow Writes (and Chats)?
health care | pension | pensions | uc retirement | Yudof

Yudof’s Pension/Retiree Health Plans Getting Outside Criticism
Byadmin November 15, 2010

As previous posts have noted, UC has proceeded on its proposed modification of the pension and retiree health plans with an inward looking focus. The external world may not be so receptive. Even before the formal presentation to the Regents later this week, there is public criticism. See below: UC changes barely touch retirement cost problem (excerpt) Daniel Borenstein, MediaNews columnist, Contra Costa Times Posted: 11/13/2010 09:00:00 PM PSTUpdated: 11/15/2010 08:34:45 AM PST GENEROUS retirement programs that have been irresponsibly managed for decades are pushing the University of California off a financial cliff. President Mark Yudof will ask regents this…

Read More Yudof’s Pension/Retiree Health Plans Getting Outside Criticism
tuition | UC

Chirpy, Chirpy, Cheap, Cheap? Privates in Tuition Competition with UC
Byadmin November 15, 2010

Excerpt from today’s Sacramento Bee: Despite steadily rising tuition, California’s public universities still can look like a bargain when compared with nonprofit private colleges. With room and board factored in, a year at UC costs about $28,000, while a year at Stanford costs around $50,000. But dig a little deeper and the difference isn’t as great as it appears at first glance. That’s because on average students at nonprofit private schools are paying less than half the so-called “sticker price.” And many students whose families earn too much to qualify for grants at public schools can receive substantial scholarships at…

Read More Chirpy, Chirpy, Cheap, Cheap? Privates in Tuition Competition with UC
miscellaneous | UC-Irvine

Free Speech at Irvine (and Elsewhere)
Byadmin November 15, 2010

Inside Higher Ed today features an article about a legal case the right of public university faculty to criticize administrators. The case at hand arises from a complaint by a UC-Irvine professor who claims he was denied a merit increase after he made such criticisms. A lower court cited another local-origin case – this one arising from the LA County district attorney’s office (Garcetti v. Ceballos ultimately decided at the U.S. Supreme Court). In that case, an employee claimed retaliation for similar criticisms. The UC-Irvine case was appealed to the Ninth Circuit which – while not ruling on the validity…

Read More Free Speech at Irvine (and Elsewhere)
Michigan Model | tuition | UC Regents

Inching Toward Michigan
Byadmin November 15, 2010

The main event of the upcoming Regents meeting is discussion (not decision) on the Yudof recommendation of Option C on the pension plan. But there is also scheduled a discussion of enrollment of out-of-state students at UC. You can find the announcement at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/nov10/e1.pdf It is scheduled on the morning of Nov. 17, after an open public comment session. (Those open comment sessions have tended to be a bit raucous of late.) If you click on the link above to the out-of-state student session, you won’t find any back-up material. The announcement just says Provost Pitts will review past enrollment…

Read More Inching Toward Michigan
miscellaneous | UCLA

UCLA History: The Lake Arrowhead Resort Back in the Day
Byadmin November 14, 2010

This photo from the UCLA digital archives shows festivities at Lake Arrowhead in 1944.

Read More UCLA History: The Lake Arrowhead Resort Back in the Day
privatization | tuition | UCLA

UCLA Academic Senate Opposes Anderson Self Sufficiency
Byadmin November 13, 2010

The Academic Senate has sent a letter to EVC Scott Waugh dated Nov. 1 opposing the Anderson “self sufficiency” funding plan (which some see as a form of privatization). Among the complaints are that salaries at Anderson are already at competitive levels with other business schools, that the proposal might overemphasize teaching relative to research, and that if the revenues projected fell short, there might be a financial risk to UCLA. You can find the Senate evaluation and other documents related to this issue at http://www.senate.ucla.edu/documents/AGSMFSS_AcademicSenateResponse.pdf A little self sufficient music: UPDATE: The Daily Bruin has an account of a…

Read More UCLA Academic Senate Opposes Anderson Self Sufficiency
miscellaneous | UCLA

UCLA History: Marching Forward
Byadmin November 12, 2010

The UCLA Marching Band in 1928 with John Phillip Sousa. Photo from UCLA digital archives.

Read More UCLA History: Marching Forward
health care | pension | pensions | UC Regents

More Reality Comes to the Regents on Nov. 18
Byadmin November 11, 2010

Even more reality will arrive on the morning of Nov. 18 at the Regents, when they take up pensions and retiree health care. The documentation for that session is at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/nov10/j3.pdf A quick review of that documentation suggests that the $2 for $1 issue is not well explained when borrowing from STIP is discussed. But that is not new; it wasn’t well explained at the campus sessions. In a previous post, you can hear yours truly make that point at the UCLA session. Anyway, in a few decades we can all sing:

Read More More Reality Comes to the Regents on Nov. 18
tuition | UC Regents

Reality Dawns on the Morning of Nov. 17 (at the Regents)
Byadmin November 11, 2010

The Regents will consider (and presumably approve) the switch in terminology from “fees” to “tuition” at their Nov. 17 meeting. (Actually, reality is scheduled to arrive after lunch, not dawn.) See http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/nov10/j1.pdf So problem over. Right?

Read More Reality Dawns on the Morning of Nov. 17 (at the Regents)