UC budget crisis

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Rocketing Tuition at UC Forecast Under All-Cuts State Budget Scenario

Byuclafaculty

Higher education leaders fear an all-cuts budget will be devastating (excerpt): Beige Luciano-Adams, 4/16/11, Pasadena Star-News As students across the state continue protesting cuts to higher education, state senators on the Budget and Fiscal Review Committee convened this past week for a depressing look at the devastation an “all-cuts” budget could unleash on California’s public education system. The damage for higher education, as outlined in recommendations from the non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, would approach $3 billion, including about $800 million slashed from community colleges and $1 billion dollars each from the California State University and University of California systems …In…

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No pay increase for faculty to ensure UC quality says LA Times

Byuclafaculty

The LA Times ran the editorial below today. It starts out well enough. But the LAT editorial committee apparently believes that UC should be managed as wisely as a bankrupt newspaper when it gets to conclusions: Highly esteemed worldwide, the University of California is among the state’s most valuable assets, but it is in danger of being sharply devalued as its budget undergoes continual cuts and uncertainty. UC President Mark Yudof hopes to bring some stability to the university by using whatever budget he is granted this year as the starting point for a five-year deal with state government, with…

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Something that could be done on the UC Budget: Time to Ask

Byuclafaculty

On The Record (Excerpt) Gov. Jerry Brown recently announced that he was ending talks with Republican legislators over a temporary tax increase. What can be done to prevent partisan standoffs in Sacramento and improve the UC’s financial circumstances? Daniel 
Mitchell, 4-11-11, Daily Bruin When the state legislature spends time in the midst of a major budget crisis debating about whether to ban shark fin soup, you know we’re in trouble. The current focus on soup is not because legislators don’t know about the dire budget situation. Rather it means they don’t know what to do about it. And that is…

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Some Pleasant Thoughts for the Weekend

Byuclafaculty

State Senate hearing on all-cuts budget solution Wyatt Buchanan, San Francisco Chronicle, April 8, 2011 Democrats in the state Senate raised the prospect of closing some University of California campuses, shortening the school year and reducing the number of law enforcement officers as they began considering what California would look like if the Legislature took an all-cuts approach to solving the budget deficit… Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, said she has spoken with distinguished faculty members at UC Berkeley who have told her they would leave the school because of cuts. Hancock raised the prospect of closing some UC campuses to…

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The Hotel/Conference Center: Is a Change of Heart Possible?

Byuclafaculty

In the light of last night’s public forum on the proposed hotel/conference center at UCLA, an interesting question was put subsequently to yours truly: Can a UC campus actually have a Change of Heart on spending priorities and activities in the light of the current state/UC budget crisis? Is it possible to stay focused on the core mission? From UC-San Diego comes one hopeful answer: UCSD, Cal Western talks for law school suspended (excerpt) Pauline Repard, April 6, 2011, San Diego Union-Tribune SAN DIEGO — The University of California San Diego and California Western School of Law have suspended merger…

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Governor Brown Warns UC Tuition Will Take Off If There is a Cuts-Only Budget

Byuclafaculty

From the San Jose Mercury-News today:…In an address Wednesday to the California Hospital Association, Brown said UC undergraduate fees could hit $20,000 to $25,000 a year if the Legislature approves and he signs an all-cuts budget. Current fees are nearly $12,000 for in-state students, plus thousands more for books and other fees, and are scheduled to rise by more than $900 a year next fall. Brown said California’s universities and colleges are its “engine of creativity and wealth and well-being. It’s going to make it harder for people to go to school. You have higher loans, and the quality of…

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Did He Mention the Pension?

Byuclafaculty

A previous post noted that President Yudof would be meeting with the governor today. The video below is his statement, apparently made before the visit. Members of the UC community would not disagree with anything he said. Reports of the subsequent visit to the governor suggest that what occurred with Brown was more the governor looking for support in his efforts to get his tax program before the voters, one way or another, than the university making its needs known. (See http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/04/gov-brown-talks-tax-extensions.html.) Not clear is whether UC (UCOP) had a specific agenda for the governor’s consideration. As noted in prior…

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An Opportunity to Go Beyond Meet and Greet

Byuclafaculty

Yesterday, this blog noted that President Yudof “hoped” to meet with Governor Brown. Today’s news is that a meeting will occur this morning. From Capital Alert: Higher education brings out big guns today in the budget wars, with University of California President Mark Yudof, California State University Chancellor Charles Reed and Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott pleading their case for sparing colleges and universities from more cuts. They kick off Higher Education Advocacy Day at 9 a.m. on the Capitol’s west steps. Gov. Jerry Brown is set to meet with them privately later this morning. Full article: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/#ixzz1IenLHu6n Of course,…

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Let’s Hope It’s More Than Hope

Byuclafaculty

We have been noting the need for UCOP to engage the governor concerning his pension proposals which – as has been reported – include UC and could override the Regents’ actions taken last December. From a San Jose Mercury-News article about higher ed lobbying activities planned for tomorrow: …University officials hope that “Advocacy Day” in Sacramento will help stave off further reductions to public colleges and universities, as some in the Legislature threaten to adopt an “all-cuts” budget to close the state’s budget gap without additional revenues… …On Tuesday, UC President Mark Yudof, Cal State Chancellor Charles Reed and California…

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UC ax doesn’t fall on Merced

Byuclafaculty

UC ax doesn’t fall on Merced: Regents hear about other campuses’ struggles to slash expenses further (excerpt): Yesenia Amaro, Merced Sun-Star, 3/17/11 University of California officials are preparing plans to meet the proposed “draconian” cuts the university system is facing. But UC Merced seems to have eluded the budget ax. Those plans were discussed during the UC Board of Regents’ regularly scheduled meeting at the UC San Francisco Mission Bay campus Wednesday. UC President Mark Yudof last month assigned the 10 UC campuses target reductions or other actions to help meet the $500 million reduction proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown….