UC Berkeley

Shrinkage at UC-Berkeley

Byuclafaculty

UC Berkeley plans to cut another 200 jobs (excerpt) Nanette Asimov, San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 23, 2010 UC Berkeley, pegged by efficiency experts as bloated with too many managers, will eliminate about 200 jobs early next year to save $20 million, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau has announced. “We cannot continue with our current administrative structures and operations and be the best run public university in the country,” Birgeneau said in a letter to employees Tuesday. The job elimination will be achieved through “a combination of attrition, retirements, voluntary separations and layoffs” after January, the chancellor said. That’s on top of 600…

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Free to Choose to Rent or Buy Your Milton Friedman Textbook at UC-Berkeley

Byuclafaculty

An article in the Oakland Tribune reports that UC-Berkeley has a textbook rental (rather than purchase) plan to hold down student costs. Excerpt from http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_15773670 BERKELEY — UC Berkeley students may have a tough time finding a room to rent before classes start Aug. 26, but they won’t have any trouble renting another back-to-school staple: textbooks. The Cal Student Store now allows students to rent select course texts for the semester, a less-expensive option that can save students nearly half the cost of new books and offers a significant savings over even used books. Most students spend about $1,000 a…

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DNA for Berkeley Freshmen: Top Legislative Priority?

Byuclafaculty

Below is an excerpt from a Sacramento Bee article describing a legislative hearing over a UC-Berkeley freshmen orientation program which involved voluntary DNA testing. The full story is at http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/11/v-print/2950513/uc-berkeley-professors-defend.html “Two UC Berkeley professors Tuesday defended a controversial plan to perform genetic testing on incoming freshmen during a legislative hearing that also featured testimony from privacy experts and bioethicists blasting the plan. Lawmakers asked questions about the Bring Your Genes to Cal project, but ultimately have no authority over the University of California. Whether the project moves forward likely depends on the outcome of a meeting today between UC Berkeley…

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More on the Edley Online Plan for UC

Byuclafaculty

Insider Higher Ed has a lengthy story today on Dean Edley’s proposal for an online UC degree program at: http://www.insidehighered.com/layout/set/print/news/2010/08/03/california Excerpt: California DreamerAugust 3, 2010 Much of the news surrounding the University of California system has involved whether the network of universities will be able to survive its current budgetary crisis without shrinking in size or quality. In that context, it is no surprise that Christopher Edley Jr.’s plan to use online education to expand the university’s footprint “from Kentucky to Kuala Lumpur” has turned some heads — and churned some stomachs. Edley, dean of the law school at the…

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Moving Towards the “Michigan Model”?

Byuclafaculty

UC freshmen to include record number of out-of-state and international studentsSuch undergraduates will rise from 6% to over 8% of the class. The change is concentrated mainly at UC Berkeley and UCLA.http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-uc-enroll-20100715,0,2160250.story Note: The “Michigan Model” is generally seen as high tuition/high aid with out-of-state students paying full freight and cross-subsidizing a discount for state residents. The local term seems to be “self sufficiency” as in: Chancellor Block: UCLA must be more self-sufficient http://www.today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/block-ucla-must-be-more-self-sufficient-149310.aspx

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UC-Berkeley Reports/Concerns About Costs of Athletic Program

Byuclafaculty

Various reports on the issue are listed below. Chancellor’s response to reports:http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2010/07/12_athleticsreport.shtml Report of Chancellor’s Advisory Committee:http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2010/07/IA-Council-Report.pdf Report of Academic Senate Task Force:http://academic-senate.berkeley.edu/pdf/Task_Force_on_Intercollegiate_Athletics_Interim_Report.pdf A news account of the Berkeley controversy is at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/07/13/MNED1ED854.DTL Note: At an Academic Senate forum on the budget last year, VC Olsen indicated that UCLA does not spend general fund monies on its athletic program. Prof. Don Morrison of Anderson, who has been much involved with the UCLA athletics program over the years, tells me the UCLA senate committee that oversees the athletics program was consulted by the Berkeley senate committee in preparing its report.

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Byuclafaculty

“UC Berkeley to pay consultant to find cost cuts” San Francisco Chronicle, Monday, October 5, 2009 The San Francisco Chronicle published an article today written by Nanette Asimov in which she reported that UC Berkeley has agreed to pay a consultant $3 million to help the university save money. UCB is facing a $150 million budget deficit for the 2009-10 year. Through short-term measures like cutting faculty pay through unpaid furlough days, laying off employees, reducing course offerings, fund raising, and increasing fees, the campus has whittled that deficit down, but there is still a long way to go to…