UC budget crisis

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Regental Lament (and maybe action)

Byuclafaculty

Scroll down on today’s blog posts and you will find an odd item slated for the Regents Committee on Finance scheduled for March 28.  On March 29, in contrast, there will be a discussion at that Committee on the budget and on tax initiatives on the November ballot.  The background report laments the current situation and notes: For UC to remain true to President Daniel Coit Gilman’s promise in the 1800s to be the “University of this State” – to help fuel its economy and provide opportunities for its continually changing population and its needs – the University must strengthen…

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Being on Both Sides

Byuclafaculty

From the Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Alert story about yesterday’s rally at the state capitol: College students and activists are rallying today in Sacramento to protest state budget cuts in higher education. They will be joined at one Capitol rally by Democratic legislative leaders who negotiated budgets that included those cuts in recent years.  It’s one example of the murky budget politics surrounding higher education… Full story at: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/03/college-students-and-activists-are.html It’s nice to be able to be on both sides: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcrEqIpi6sg&w=320&h=195]Update: Dan Walters, a columnist for the Sacramento Bee, makes the same point today in an op ed that concludes with the…

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Too Many in the UC Lifeboat?

Byuclafaculty

Mike Lofchie pointed me to this article which questions the one-system view of UC and, in particular, UC-Merced, in a period of budget stringency. February 12, 2012, Chronicle of Higher Education Fault Lines Form Among Campuses as Finances Strain U. of California (excerpt): By Eric Kelderman President Mark G. Yudof of the University of California often says that the system he oversees is one university with 10 campuses.  But some higher-education experts say the economic strains and budget cuts of the past three years are fraying the ties that hold the system together. Several campus leaders have proposed measures to…

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State Out of Cash?

Byuclafaculty

You may see some headlines about the state running out of cash.  The state controller today sent a letter to the legislature supporting passage of a bill allowing for more internal borrowing.  What does this development mean? As we have noted in past blog posts, in the current fiscal year and the past two years, in common English parlance the general fund of the state has been in rough balance, i.e., inflow = outflow.  But prior to that there were big deficits that ultimately left the state with a negative reserve in its general fund. When the general fund has…

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Obama on Higher Ed Tuition and State Support

Byuclafaculty

In the State of the Union address last night, President Obama called on states to enhance their higher ed budgets and universities to hold down tuition.  Whether the California state legislature is going to heed that request is another matter, of course. The President talked about less federal aid if tuition goes up, although in what form that would come about was not clear.Video clip below. “When kids do graduate, the most daunting challenge can be the cost of college.  At a time when Americans owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt, this Congress needs to stop the…

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Plenty of Nothing

Byuclafaculty

Here is a quote from the governor’s recent budget proposal: “The University of California (UC) will receive an increase of $90 million General Fund for base operating costs, which can be used to address costs related to retirement program contributions.” Question: What does it mean?  Answer: Nothing.  UC has always been free to take its general revenue and put it into the pension fund.  Indeed, since the state has so far refused to resume paying the employer contribution for state-funded employees into the pension fund, that is what UC has been doing. Question: If it means nothing, why are you…

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Not Worth a Mention?

Byuclafaculty

Gov. Brown delivered his “State of the State” speech yesterday.  Click below for the speech.  Lots of topics are discussed.  Higher ed, however, is not one of them.  An earlier post noted that UC is like a flea on the back of an elephant when it comes to state budgeting and such.  That message was reinforced yesterday.  But perhaps our absence will make the governor’s heart grow fonder.  Valentine’s Day is coming up after all.  The governor did mention his public pension plan in the speech – which would sweep UC into a larger state change.  With regard to that…

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Chancellor Block on KPCC Airtalk

Byuclafaculty

No shockers emerged from the KPCC Airtalk panel on higher ed yesterday that included Chancellor Block.  There was a fair amount of discussion of online courses and related items.  Chancellor Block spoke about the need to change the “funding model” given the state cutbacks.  However, he used philanthropy, not tuition, as the example of the change.  Description and link below: What is the future of higher education in America? Is the four-year degree model with students living on or near a campus, is the idea of creating a well-read, well-rounded cohort of critical thinkers perhaps outdated? Can the nation’s colleges…

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UC Like a Flea on an Elephant in Latest LAO Budget Report

Byuclafaculty

Maybe the biggest lesson to take away from the Legislative Analyst’s Office latest report on the state budget – responding to the governor’s budget proposal – is that UC is a flea on the back of an elephant.  We are hardly mentioned, other than a reference to possible trigger cuts next year if Governor Brown’s tax initiative isn’t passed by voters. Much of the report focuses on the world of Prop 98, i.e., K-14 schools, not surprisingly since that is such a large chunk of the budget. The LAO is concerned about possible over-optimism in Brown’s budget projections.  Just a…

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Someone let the cat out of the bag on the state budget

Byuclafaculty

Normally, the governor’s budget proposal (reminder – it is a proposal, not an enacted budget) would be made public January 10.  Someone in the governor’s entourage apparently goofed and posted it on the web today.  So there was a hasty unveiling without the usual leaking of bits and pieces for days before January 10. As it happens, yours truly is about to go to Chicago for three days so only a rough perusal of the budget was possible.  But here are some highlights.  First, take a look at the chart on the left.  The dark part of the bars are…