UC

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What Jerry Promised

Byuclafaculty

California Watch has a summary of Jerry Brown’s “promises” concerning higher ed (and looks at the prospect for higher tuition). Below are the promises listed as summarized in the article: Jerry Brown’s higher education promises: Convene a “representative group” to create a new higher education Master Plan: “This situation calls for a major overhaul of many components of the postsecondary system. We need to convene a representative group to create a new state Master Plan.” Create an online “extended university” program: “The introduction of online learning and the use of new technologies should be explored to the fullest, as well…

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CalSTRS can apparently wait to cut its estimated investment return to UC level

Byuclafaculty

From the Sacramento Bee: The CalSTRS board Friday postponed a crucial decision on reducing its investment-return forecast because two of its members were absent. Jack Ehnes, chief executive of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, said the board wanted every one of its 12 members present for the decision. The vote is now set for Dec. 2. CalSTRS’ staff has recommended that the forecast of annual returns be cut by half a percentage point, to 7.5 percent… Note that if CalSTRS and CalPERS eventually go to our 7.5%, we can no longer claim to be more conservative than the two…

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LAO publishes budget review

Byuclafaculty

The Legislative Analyst’s Office released a summary of budget developments up through the passage of the 2010-11 budget last month. It is not, however, a projection of what is to come. That analysis is likely to be coming later this month. Nonetheless, for those interested in the details, the summary is available at http://www.lao.ca.gov/reports/2010/bud/spend_plan/spend_plan_110510.pdf The report takes note of the fact that the earlier legislation in which the state claimed no responsibility for the UC pension has been removed. (The UCLA Faculty Assn. proudly notes its part in getting that accomplished. See earlier posts for info on the role played…

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UC Calls for Faculty Volunteers for Online Education Project

Byuclafaculty

UCOP announcement reproduced below: UC Online Instruction Pilot Project Today the University of California finds itself confronting a tremendous challenge: In recent times, there has been a transformation in how students learn. Increasingly, technology and the computer play central roles in their lives — affecting everything from how they gain knowledge to how they communicate with others. In response to this transformation, UC seeks to reach out to this new breed of students, enriching their academic experience with all that technology offers and at the same time maintaining the superb caliber of undergraduate education offered at UC campuses. As part…

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Plan for UC Employer Contribution to Pensions: 2011-2037

Byuclafaculty

Above is a chart, which I am told is not confidential, showing UCOP’s plan for the employer share of the contributions to go into the pension plans (existing plus lower tier) until 2037. The image may not be clear; the lower line is the plan with STIP borrowing which maxes at 18.5%. The higher line is what would happen without STIP borrowing and it maxes at 20%. The note on the bottom of the chart reads: “Assumes new tier with 15.% (sic) total normal cost in place by FYB2013, 8% contribution for employees that stay in the current UCRP plan….

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Take a Hike (in tuition) at CSU – and Eventually at UC

Byuclafaculty

CSU considers spring fee hike (excerpt) Capitol Alert, October 29, 2010, Laurel Rosenhall California State University trustees will vote on a mid-year fee increase on Nov. 9 that would raise tuition by 5 percent for the spring term. If the action is approved, tuition for a semester at a CSU campus would rise to $2,220, not including fees that specific campuses charge or books, housing and living expenses. The proposal is not unexpected. When CSU trustees voted in June to raise fees for the current semester they said they would consider another fee increase after a state budget was approved….

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Advice on What Not to Do on the UC Health Plan That I Can Vouch For

Byuclafaculty

Members of the UC health system periodically receive offers for an Amazon or other retail voucher if they fill out a health survey form online. Based on the info filled out on the form, you receive advice on how to improve your health. From the San Francisco Chronicle: Ex-UCSF employee sentenced for voucher scam A former UCSF Medical Center employee was sentenced Thursday to a year and a day in federal prison for using the Social Security numbers of fellow workers to complete health surveys so he could receive hundreds of $100 vouchers good for purchases from Amazon.com. Cam Giang,…

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Brown and Whitman on Higher Ed

Byuclafaculty

Excerpt from California Watch: …Whitman and Brown agree that higher education needs more money. Whitman says she would get $1 billion from cuts to welfare and other reforms and would look to college officials on how to best spend those funds. Brown says he’d shift spending from prisons. Brown also proposes a new Master Plan, the long-ignored 1960 document that defined the roles of the UC, CSU and community college systems and promised a tuition-free education for all Californians. He would emphasize online classes to expand access to education, he says, and would ease the transfer process from community colleges…

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Credit Card Deals and the University

Byuclafaculty

An article in today’s Insider Higher Ed notes that the Federal Reserve has made available info on deals between credit card issuers and universities. Above is a table from the Fed’s report showing some information on the UC-systemwide alumni group and UCLA and their deals with credit card firms. It isn’t as legible as I would like but you can get the report including the table above at http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/rptcongress/creditcard/2010/downloads/CCAP_October_web.pdf An excerpt from the article in Insider Higher Ed: Credit Card Companies Pay Millions to Colleges (excerpt) Inside Higher Ed, October 26, 2010 Credit card companies made more than $83 million…

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Final Report from Committee on the Future (Except It is a Draft)

Byuclafaculty

There is now a draft report on the UCOP website – entitled DRAFT final report (so it is final but still a draft?) – from the UC Committee on the Future. There are not a lot of surprises. Recommendations are included to speed up undergrad degrees, make transfers easier from community colleges, pursue online education, change the word fee to tuition, have cohort-based tuition schedules, achieve more efficiencies, do more fund raising, wring more money out of grants, have more out-of-state students who pay full freight, etc. Maybe the most controversial is differential tuition across the campuses. The draft report…