UC budget crisis

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Update: UC Tuition Freeze & Other Budget Items Confirmed

Byuclafaculty

Earlier today, we posted an unconfirmed item saying the budget now going through the legislature contains some added funding for UC in exchange for a tuition freeze.  That item has now been confirmed (and it is, as reported, contingent on voter approval of the governor’s tax initiative in November).  So have other elements reported in earlier posts such as added and earmarked funding for the pension (but with no acknowledgment of state liability for the pension).  And the legislature has declined to go along with the governor’s voiding of legislative earmarks for UC and some kind of long-term funding deal…

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Are We There Yet?

Byuclafaculty

It might seem puzzling but we actually don’t quite have a state budget.  Yes, the legislature kind of enacted one on June 15. And, yes, the governor and legislative leaders announced a conceptual deal a few days thereafter.  But in fact not all of the details have been worked out as the link below, if you want the full story, describes:http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/06/democrats-offer-30-million-to-local-health-plans.html Of course, the biggest element of uncertainty from the UC perspective is whether voters will pass the governor’s tax initiative in November, thereby averting trigger cuts to the university. The question does remain, however:

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Forecast Lessons from the Past and for the Present

Byuclafaculty

Earlier today, the UCLA Anderson Forecast conference presented its quarterly projections of the U.S. and California economies.  No surprises.  There was a continued forecast (from earlier conferences) of sluggish growth with years to go before what can be truly seen as a return to “normal” occurs.  You can find a media write up at: http://business-news.thestreet.com/daily-news/story/ucla-forecast-economy-lag-3-more-years-high-unemployment-slow-growth-impede-progress/1 An official media release from the Forecast is at:http://uclaforecast.com/contents/archive/2012/media_62012_1.asp The Forecast reminded me of two lessons that can be drawn from recent developments.  The first – from the past – is that there is an underlying problem in California which can be seen in two charts…

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Radio Interview with Mark Yudof on UC Funding

Byuclafaculty

You can listen to a radio interview on “Marketplace” aired earlier today with UC President Mark Yudof.  He spoke about a need for a new financial model for funding UC, although exactly what that model might be was not specified.——-You can hear the interview at the link below.  [The embed link on the Marketplace page seems not to work successfully on this blogsite.]

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Reports that the Dems and the Governor are Closing in on a Budget Deal

Byuclafaculty

There are news reports that the legislative Democrats think they are closing on a budget deal with the governor – presumably by the Friday deadline.  The governor has been more guarded in his statements. As a prior blog post noted, there is little cash impact on UC’s budget one way or the other.  But the legislature has refused to go along with anything that limits its discretion with regard to UC and explicitly rejects the long-term funding notion that UCOP and the governor have been discussing.  The legislature is less harsh than the governor when it comes to Cal Grants…

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Ménage à Trois Budget Negotiations Reveal Pluses and Minuses for UC

Byuclafaculty

Legislative Democrats have released a version on the 2012-13 budget that differs from the governor’s May Revise, mainly in featuring lesser cuts to social welfare programs and a smaller reserve projected for the general fund a year from now (June 30, 2013).  This release is part of a negotiation process between legislative Dems and the governor, partly in the media and partly behind closed doors.  Because a simple majority can pass a budget under rules approved by voters in 2010, the GOP is effectively not part of the negotiations. Back in the day when a two-thirds vote was required, budget…

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Academic Bloat?

Byuclafaculty

From today’s San Francisco Chronicle: It sounds like an obesity epidemic in higher education: program bloat.  …The phrase refers to the hundreds of degree programs at California’s public universities with fewer than 10 graduates in a given year … A new study out Sunday from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni calls on the universities to eliminate low-enrollment programs or offer them jointly across campuses or online for efficiency…   Last year, the University of California had 792 programs with fewer than 10 students receiving a bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, according to the report… For example, five of…

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Questioning of Redistribution of Tuition to Student Aid

Byuclafaculty

Inside Higher Ed has been reporting on complaints and political reaction at the University of Iowa about redistribution of tuition toward student aid.  The complaint is basically that middle class families are being taxed to provide such aid. The University of California has been engaged in such redistribution for years and in fact often cites its aid policy when tuition has been raised. But there could be spillover from Iowa and other locations where the practice has been questioned as tuition here rises.  If redistribution were not used at the U of California, and if state support continues to drop,…

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Glad That’s Clear

Byuclafaculty

Voters created a non-partisan, top-2 primary system which went into full effect on Tuesday. The purpose of the non-partisan primary, as seen by proponents, was to create more “centrists” (compromise-prone representatives) in the legislature and Congress. Centrists would then form a bridge between the polarized parties. As far as the state budget (and UC’s stake in it) goes, the theory was that impasses, particularly over taxes, would be less likely to occur. There is a lot of analysis in the news media post-Tuesday on whether the new system had the effect expected by proponents. In more detail, the theory is…

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Close But No Tobacco Tax

Byuclafaculty

The proposed tobacco tax was narrowly defeated, 49.8% to 50.2% in yesterday’s voting.  As a prior post on this blog noted, the tax would not have gone into the general fund and thus would not have directly aided the UC budget. However, defeat of the tax – as also noted in the prior post – could be taken as an omen of resistance to tax hikes more generally, and therefore not a good sign for the prospect of the governor’s proposed tax initiative for November, which would go into the general fund. Yes, there was heavy anti-tobacco tax advertising by…