CSU

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Will the Governor Begin Asking for a Limit on UC Administrative Pay? (He Just Did – Unsuccessfully – at CSU)

Byuclafaculty

Governor Brown, an ex officio UC Regent, recently complained about a $400,000 salary slated for an incoming president of San Diego State. Inside Higher Ed today provided a link to the governor’s letter to the Trustees: You can read his letter to the CSU Board of Trustees at http://gov.ca.gov/docs/SKMBT_C45011071120240.pdf However, the Board approved the salary, nonetheless. We actually have some video of what the CSU Board said on the subject and it did not seem to be receptive to the governor’s complaint: Update: No one loves administrators. See http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/07/14/new_book_argues_bloated_administration_is_what_ails_higher_education in which you can read the opinion that “a million-dollar president…

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CSU Tuition Prepares for Blast Off

Byuclafaculty

From Capitol Alert blog of the Sacramento Bee today: …Chancellor Charles Reed announced this afternoon that he will ask trustees to vote on a 12 percent tuition increase when they meet on July 12. “What was once unprecedented has unfortunately become normal, as for the second time in three years the CSU will be cut by well over $500 million,” Reed said in a statement. “The magnitude of this cut, compounded with the uncertainty of the final amount of the reduction, will have negative impacts on the CSU long after this upcoming fiscal year has come and gone.” Full article:…

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Severance Pay from Oil?

Byuclafaculty

A new ballot initiative is going into circulation which imposes an oil severance tax for education, including higher ed. It apparently has some level of endorsement from community colleges. However, there is no money at this point for signature gathering. Hiring signature-gathering firms for an initiative costs $1-$2 million. The backers say they will use students, Facebook, etc. So far, no one has gotten anything on the ballot in recent memory without hiring signature-gathering firms. Of course, getting something on the ballot is only a first step. You then need lots more money for TV ads, particularly if you take…

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LAO provides options for quality reduction at UC

Byuclafaculty

The Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor continues to provide helpful suggestions for higher ed including UC regarding budgetary options:Reduce personnel costs by 10 percent at UC and 5 percent at CSU: $408 million • Could require UC faculty to teach more and research less • Could reduce sabbaticals and release time • Could increase employee benefit contributions at CSU Full list of options at http://www.lao.ca.gov/handouts/education/2011/Review_of_Budget_Reduction_Options_for_Higher_Education_41211.pdf [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qrjtr_uFac&w=320&h=195]

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Unpreparedness: Report by the LAO

Byuclafaculty

The Legislative Analyst’s Office has release a PowerPoint presentation entitled “Are Entering Freshmen Prepared For College-Level Work?” On UC: Unpreparedness rates of freshmen at UC have declined slightly in recent years. * In 2009, about 25 percent of regularly admitted freshmen arrived unprepared for college-level writing. * The percentage of freshmen needing remediation varies considerably across UC campuses. In fall 2009, the unpreparedness rates ranged from a low of 9 percent at UC Berkeley to a high of 59 percent at UC Merced. On CSU: The CSU currently admits many students who are unprepared for college-level writing and math. Of…

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LAO Describes Slash and Burn Budget if Voters Do Not Approve Tax Extensions

Byuclafaculty

As prior posts have noted, Gov. Brown at one point seemed poised to present a budget from Hell that would assume no tax extensions. He would then offer the tax extensions as salvation. However, that strategy was not followed and the budget actually proposed assumes voters enact the tax extensions. However, the Legislative Analyst has – at the request of some legislators – has in fact indicated what a budget from Hell might look like. Below is an item excerpted from Capital Alert that describes the finding and notes the higher ed implications: Legislative analyst identifies massive cuts if taxes…

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Yudof: No Tuition Hike This Year If Voters Behave

Byuclafaculty

UC, CSU Avoid Fee Increases Despite Budget Cuts Feb. 7, 2011, CBS Los Angeles SACRAMENTO (AP) — The chancellors of the University of California and California State University systems say they don’t plan to seek student fees increases this year, despite a state budget proposal that calls for deep cuts to higher education. But UC Chancellor Mark Yudof and CSU Chancellor Charles Reed said Monday that promise won’t hold if Californians don’t agree to tax extensions that Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing for the June ballot… Full article at http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/02/07/uc-csu-avoid-fee-increases-despite-budget-cuts/# Note: There may be less here than meets the eye….

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A CSU President Declares Master Plan Dead

Byuclafaculty

State plan for higher education ‘dead,’ CSUSM president declares: Haynes says universities must seek private partners to protect programs, services (excerpt) North County Times, 2-3-11, Deborah Sullivan Brennan California has abandoned its commitment to higher education, compelling Cal State San Marcos and other universities to seek private partnerships for their programs, university President Karen Haynes told hundreds of guests Thursday in her annual Report to the Community. “The California master plan for higher education is dead because the social compact itself is broken,” she said. “There is no longer the same sense of obligation to the next generation of Californians…

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Tuition Chart

Byuclafaculty

The chart above from the Sacramento Bee shows the trend in tuition at UC and CSU since the 1960s. Source: http://blogs.sacbee.com/the-public-eye/2011/01/csu-uc-fees-outpace-inflation.html It’s just love from the state at work:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSFnyiIrPM0&w=480&h=390]

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LAO Calls for Constraints on Doctoral Programs at CSU

Byuclafaculty

The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) has issued a review of the education doctorate CSU was authorized to implement. As earlier posts have noted, doctorates at CSU are basically in violation of the Master Plan – whatever is left of it. The legislature nevertheless, and in a time when budget problems could hardly be worse, permitted the CSU doctorate expansion (also in nursing in physical therapy). But it required a “team” consisting of the LAO, the Dept. of Finance, and CSU to come up with an evaluation of the educational doctorate. Not surprisingly, the team could not agree. So the LAO…