UC

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Data on California Higher Ed

Byuclafaculty

Inside Higher Ed today pointed me towards a report on data concerning higher ed in California from the Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy (CSU-Sacramento). The report covers the three systems of higher ed (CCs, CSU, UC) although often not breaking out the three separately. For example, the chart above (from Figure 14 of the report) shows that while college-going directly from high school by race is qualitatively in line with stereotypes, the main gap quantitatively between whites, Latinos, and blacks occurs at the K-12 level, i.e., dropouts and late high school finishers. (Asians are substantially above the other…

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Will There Be an Overflow from the CSU Executive Pay Issue to UC?

Byuclafaculty

The Sacramento Bee features a story today about legislative moves to cap executive pay at CSU. As noted in a prior blog posting, the CSU board raised pay of an incoming campus president by $100,000 while approving a tuition increase. UC is mentioned in the excerpt below. In principle, the Regents have constitutional autonomy although the legislature sometimes ignores it or writes bills that impose something on CSU and urges UC to follow. From kitchen tables to Capitol offices, two decisions California State University trustees made earlier this week have left Californians seething. …And now lawmakers are tapping into the…

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Will the Governor Begin Asking for a Limit on UC Administrative Pay? (He Just Did – Unsuccessfully – at CSU)

Byuclafaculty

Governor Brown, an ex officio UC Regent, recently complained about a $400,000 salary slated for an incoming president of San Diego State. Inside Higher Ed today provided a link to the governor’s letter to the Trustees: You can read his letter to the CSU Board of Trustees at http://gov.ca.gov/docs/SKMBT_C45011071120240.pdf However, the Board approved the salary, nonetheless. We actually have some video of what the CSU Board said on the subject and it did not seem to be receptive to the governor’s complaint: Update: No one loves administrators. See http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/07/14/new_book_argues_bloated_administration_is_what_ails_higher_education in which you can read the opinion that “a million-dollar president…

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Gone

Byuclafaculty

Some California university degrees disappear amid budget cuts (excerpts): Laurel Rosenhall, July 9, 2011, Sacramento Bee …UC Davis students can no longer get bachelor’s degrees in applied science, avian science or nature and culture. UC Santa Cruz has eliminated minors in computer technology, journalism and communication and rhetoric. As California’s public universities look for efficiencies in the face of ongoing budget cuts, some long-standing fields of study are falling by the wayside… “Clearly some of it is cyclical, but the budget cuts are accelerating the process and forcing the campuses to make some tough decisions,” said Todd Greenspan, director of…

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LA Times Wants a Pre-Commitment from UC

Byuclafaculty

The LA Times today runs an editorial lamenting UC tuition increases and increased admission of out-of-state students. See below for an excerpt in italics. But the editorial goes on to tell UC to pre-commit to reversals of these actions if the budget approves, apparently according to a formula. What in fact needs to happen is not unilateral action by UC but rather a negotiation between the governor, legislative leaders, Dept. of Finance, Legislative Analyst, interest groups, and UC in which future understandings are worked out. One-way pre-commitments are not the way to go. Yours truly has not noticed that the…

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In-State Applicants Knock on UC Admissions Door But Out-of-State Proportion Rising

Byuclafaculty

At their upcoming July meeting, the Regents will receive projected undergrad admissions and enrollment data. California residents – while still the heavy majority of projected incoming students – are declining as a percent of total new enrollment. Applications were up but in-state admits, both as freshmen and as community college transfers, were flat. The report is available at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/jul11/e1.pdf As the budget squeeze continues, UC increasingly will likely turn away in-state residents knocking on the admissions door:

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Wrong Direction

Byuclafaculty

In yesterday’s LA Times, Patt Morrison interviewed former UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale. Most of the interview dealt with other matters. But below is an excerpt on UC:What do you make of what’s happening to the University of California? We had this great public university, but you didn’t have to insert the word “public.” [It was] able to compete with the best of the privates. We’re losing that. We may already have lost it, in large measure. Students now pay more in tuition fees than the state provides. The resource gap is too great. It’s not as if all the fine…

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Where Are They Going?

Byuclafaculty

UC fears talent loss to deeper pockets Larry Gordon, LA Times, 6/29/11 UC San Diego faced a losing battle recently when it tried to hang on to three star scientists being wooed by Rice University for cutting-edge cancer research. The recruiting package from the private Houston university included 40% pay raises, new labs and a healthy flow of research money from a Texas state bond fund. Another factor, unrelated to Rice, helped close the deal: The professors’ sense that declining state funding for the University of California makes it a good time to pack their bags. “What’s happening now is…

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Better Learning Through Chemistry?

Byuclafaculty

Yours truly is not sure this is exactly what those pushing for more online education at UC envisioned. The Daily Bruin today carries a story about Chemistry 14D. Students receive credits for putting together videos that communicate principles of the course. Full story at http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2011/06/extra_credit_music_videos_make_chemistry_14d_more_basic An example is below. Click on cc (closed captions) to see the words.

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What will be the state of the UC in five to 10 years?

Byuclafaculty

Yours truly was asked by the Daily Bruin (5-26-11) to respond to the following question: What will be the state of the UC in five to 10 years? Below is my response: DANIEL J.B. MITCHELL, Professor Emeritus at the Anderson School of Management and the Luskin School of Public Affairs “Never (make) forecasts, especially about the future,” advised Sam Goldwyn (the G in media company MGM). I will take his advice and instead suggest two scenarios. I don’t know which one UCLA, and the larger UC, will follow. But I know which one I prefer. The first scenario is an…