So reports today’s edition of Inside Higher Ed about state senate leader Darrell Steinberg’s bill to mandate MOOCs at UC, CSU, and the community colleges. You can find the article at http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/08/01/controversial-california-bill-outsource-student-learning-dead-until-2014-or-later
Apparently, M-I-D-D-L-E C-L-A-S-S S-C-H-O-L-A-R-S-H-I-P: From the Contra Costa Times: With the governor’s signature this week, California college students from middle-income families will soon be in line for a tuition discount. The state-funded Middle Class Scholarship will buffer tens of thousands of students from UC’s and Cal State’s frequent and unpredictable fee hikes… When the program begins in 2014 it will bring some relief to California’s middle-class families who have watched helplessly in recent years as public tuition and fees have nearly doubled since 2007. It will offer sliding-scale discounts of up to 40 percent for families who earn $150,000 or…
A prior post on this blog referred to the recent legislative hearing on California Senate president Darrell Steinberg’s bill that would create a “platform” for various online courses that could be taken for college credit. At the hearing, he offered amendments to the original bill (SB 520) and was asked to come back with the written versions. The amended bill can be read below: But are you ready for the platform? Update: Don’t tell Steinberg:http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/05/02/survey-finds-presidents-are-skeptical-moocs Update: Anyway, don’t tell Steinberg unless you are sure it is him:http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-online-cheating-20130502,0,795806,full.story
As we have noted many times, it is very hard to get an initiative on the ballot without hiring signature-gathering firms (which will cost $1-$2 million). And if the initiative gets on the ballot, millions more will be needed for TV ads, etc., if there is opposition. An oil severance tax to fund higher ed would clearly have such opposition – from the oil industry. All that said, there is such an effort underway (as noted in prior posts): …Conceived by UC-Berkeley students, the California Modernization and Economic Development Act places a 9.5 percent tax on oil and gas extracted…
A California State Senate committee held a hearing yesterday on SB 520, a bill that in its original form mandated 50 online courses at UC, CSU, and the community colleges. The bill is being pushed by Senate President Steinberg. At the hearing, he offered amendments setting 50 as a goal rather than a mandate and allowing “public-public” partnerships as opposed to public-private. The latter refers to deals with private MOOC companies. Public-public would include, for example, cross-campus courses. He also offered an amendment that no public monies would be used for the private side of any public-private partnerships. (It’s not…
The drawing board According to the LA Times, UC is not likely to like important elements of the forthcoming May revise budget to be issued by the governor: …”We’d like to go back to the drawing board,” said Patrick Lenz, a top UC budget official. The university was not consulted in advance about the details of Brown’s proposal, he said… And what are those elements? Gov. Jerry Brown wants to tie some state funding for California’s public universities to a host of new requirements, including 10% increases in the number of transfer students from community colleges and the percentage of…
Inside Higher Ed today notes that it appears that the Academic Senates of the three tiers of California public higher ed are decidedly unenthusiastic about the proposed legislation to mandate online courses under certain conditions. Previous posts on this blog have reported on the controversy.…Academic senate leaders from all three public higher ed systems – UC, Cal State and the California Community Colleges — now outright oppose the efforts, though their full senates have yet to take formal votes…In particular, faculty representatives are concerned California lawmakers are preparing to hand over untold thousands of students to for-profit companies that have not proven…
The chart above is self-explanatory. The chart below shows that budget cuts produce tuition increases which then increase the cost of the state’s Cal Grant program. The LAO’s full report is at:http://www.lao.ca.gov/handouts/education/2013/Financial-Aid-and-the-State-Budget031313.pdf
An earlier post on this blog noted an announcement of a bill in the legislature that would impose an oil severance tax dedicated to the three segments of higher ed. It was noted on that post that the actual text of the bill was not available at that time. Now the bill is available. As it turns out, some of the funding (7%) goes to the Dept. of Parks and Recreation. At present, that department is mired in a scandal about hidden funds. If you are unfamiliar with that scandal, you can start with http://www.sacbee.com/2013/02/15/5192590/california-state-parks-had-hidden.html and then Google your way…
Back in the day at Huntington Beach A debate that’s been raging now for several years in California is headed to the Legislature, as two Democratic lawmakers introduce legislation to impose an oil extraction tax, with the proceeds earmarked for higher education and state parks. SB 241 by state Sen. Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, and state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, brings front and center a long simmering discussion about whether California should impose a tax on oil production similar to other states. “California is the largest — and only — oil producing state in the nation that does not…
