UC Regents

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“It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over” May Apply to the UC Pension

Byuclafaculty

In previous posts on this blog, we kept you informed on the various steps up to the pension changes adopted by the UC Regents last December. But we have also noted that what the Regents did may not be the final word. There could be an initiative on the ballot that would override what the Regents did, sweeping UC into some general state/local pension changes. Most recently, the Legislative Analyst indicated the state might aid UC’s pension funding – but for a price involving some further changes. See the earlier post on that development. In this post, two reports are…

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Pension Deal in Legislature to Gain GOP Votes?

Byuclafaculty

There continue to be reports that the Republican price for going along with putting Gov. Brown’s proposed tax extensions on the ballot will be some kind of public pension proposition. To recap, Brown needs the legislature to put his tax extensions on the ballot by June; there is not enough time to go the petition-signature-initiative route. The legislature would normally need a 2/3 vote to do so which would require all Democrats plus 5 Republicans to agree. While there has been discussion of ways to bypass the 2/3 requirement, such an approach could lead to a legal challenge which could…

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Brown’s Need for Tax Extension Could Lead to High Tension on Pension

Byuclafaculty

From time to time, yours truly has noted that a public pension proposition on the ballot could override the Regents’ action last December, unless it explicitly exempted UC. It is possible there could be a proposition related to pensions as early as June. Such a proposition would not be an initiative, i.e., a proposition put on the ballot by voter petition. There is not enough time to go the initiative route. However, Jerry Brown needs to get his tax extension on the ballot by June and he needs the legislature to put it there (since, again, there is no time…

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Regents Contemplate the Budget & Admissions 1-19-11 – Part 2

Byuclafaculty

This posting continues from Part 1. Please see the text of Part 1. Part 6 UC-San Diego / Holistic Admissions Part 7 Holistic Admissions – continues Part 8 Holistic Admissions – continues Part 9 Holistic Admissions / Student Response to Budget Part 10 Budget Part 11 Budget Part 12 Budget Part 13 Budget Part 14 Budget (end of morning session)

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Can We Drop the High Paid Pension Thing Now Rather than Wait for March, Regents?

Byuclafaculty

I have posted some of the audio of the January Regents meeting and will get around to posting more soon. However, the issue of the demand for high-paid UC exec pensions – see earlier posts if you have been buried in a cave for the past month – continues to be a blemish on UC. Moreover, it exacerbates the entire state budget scene. At the January Regents meeting, it was pointed out that the demand is not helpful to UC at all. But the matter is apparently being deferred to the March Regents meeting. That delay means it continues to…

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Regents Contemplate the Budget & Admissions 1-19-11 – Part 1

Byuclafaculty

I am going to be posting the Regents meeting audio from the session of 1-19-11, morning. This session was devoted to the budget outlook and a proposal to expand “holistic” admissions. It takes me some time to get the audios in shape for posting. I am going to post four which deal primarily with the budget and one which gets into the holistic discussion. When I have time, I will continue the posting. However, the budget discussion – although no decisions were taken – may well be significant. If you listen to the speeches by Regent Gould, President Yudof, and…

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Regents Approve UCLA Student Housing Construction Project

Byuclafaculty

The Regents meetings are audio-streamed. Sadly, as pointed out previously on this blogsite, they are not archived. Yours truly cannot record them all and post them since he has other activities and responsibilities. If there is a good reason why Regents meetings cannot be audio-archived, I have yet to hear it. I did hear, but not record, a bit of yesterday’s Regents meeting at which a construction project for UCLA was among the items approved. The Regents approved the project – replacement and expansion of various student apartment houses near campus. For the proposal, see http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/jan11/gb2a.pdf However, they did so…

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Former Chancellor Young Reviews Funding Options for UC in the Face of the State Budget Crisis

Byuclafaculty

In a chapter for the current edition of California Policy Options, former UCLA Chancellor Charles Young reviews funding options for UC. He discusses status quo funding, privatization, and “modified self-sufficiency” in this chapter and suggests the last as the most viable of the three. California Policy Options 2011 will eventually be available in full on the web. However, you can access the Young chapter at https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0BzVLYPK7QI_4MzhmMjMyMmUtN2Y0Zi00Njc4LWEyMWQtOWE0MWVkMjdlNjY0&hl=en&authkey=CMLHxK4O A related item is an op ed by yours truly in today’s Daily Bruin: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0BzVLYPK7QI_4Y2E4OTFjZmQtM2QzNy00NjA2LWI4MDAtZWNkYTRhODdiMWI2&hl=en&authkey=CLeVhc8JAnd finally, if you really want to know more than you should about the way state budget sausage is made,…

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Come July 1, UCOP and the Regents Better Have a Plan B

Byuclafaculty

As appeared more and more likely when the Brown budget proposal was being leaked out, a critical part of the plan involves getting voters to approve an extension of temporary tax increases that were originally approved in Feb. 2009. An added complication – more political than legal – is that the income tax increase has expired. So withholding from paychecks has dropped and would be restarted retroactively if such a measure were passed. This fact will add to the argument that the ballot measure is a tax “increase” rather than an “extension.” Republicans have been increasing emphatic that they will…

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The Affirmative Action Controversy: Evidence of Strategic Behavior in Texas University Admissions

Byuclafaculty

Under Prop 209, affirmative action in public university admissions is banned in California. As many will know, Prop 209 evolved out of a UC Regents action in the 1990s. (Subsequently, after Prop 209 passed, the Regents dropped their regulation. But the change had no effect since Prop 209 remained in effect.) Over the years, various approaches have been proposed to increase minority representation in UC enrollment. One approach, found in Texas, is to take the top X percent of high school grads by high school rather than in all high schools combined. In Texas, X = 10%. A working paper…