UCOF

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Differential Tuition at UC?

Byuclafaculty

University of California weighs varying tuitions at its 10 campuses (excerpts)Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times, May 9, 2011 Should an education at UC Berkeley cost more than one at UC Santa Cruz? Should a student pay $11,000 in tuition at UC Riverside while his friend is billed $16,000 at UCLA? …Nationally, UC is late to the debate, with many other state university systems long ago having established differential tuitions for their campuses… …Perhaps not surprisingly, officials at UC Berkeley and UCLA have been among the most vocal advocates for some freedom in setting undergraduate tuition rates, which now are established…

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CUCFA statement about the Dec. 13th special Regent’s meeting

Byuclafaculty

Council of UC Faculty Associations statement about the Dec. 13th special Regent’s meeting At their Special Meeting on Monday, December 13, the Regents of the University of California will be making decisions on two significant issues– endorsing the principles of the UC Commission on the Future (UCOF) and drastically changing the University of California Retirement Plan (UCRP). “One thing we can agree on, said Robert Meister, President of the Council of UC Faculty Associations “is the first sentence of the UCOF Report: ‘UC is at a crossroads.’” Meister continued, “Unfortunately the University leadership has ignored the outcome of this year’s…

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Audio of Regents Meeting of 12-13-10: UCOF Approval & Post-Employment Benefits Plan Approval

Byuclafaculty

Below are links to the audio of the Regents meeting of 12-13-10. There are 13 segments. (A couple of minutes of noise at the beginning of Part 1 have been omitted during which there were problems in linking two locations. The meeting officially began once the link was established.) At this meeting, the Regents approved the UCOF (University Committee on the Future) report as well as the Yudof plan for post-employment benefits (pension & retiree health care). The Regents meeting took place with a video link to UCLA where some Regents attended. As the previous post on this blog noted,…

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The Future Lies Ahead: Final UCOF Report

Byuclafaculty

Press release from UCOP issued yesterday at:http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/24629 UC Commission on the Future (UCOF) final report released Date: 2010-12-06 The final report of the University of California Commission on the Future, convened last year to map out strategies to preserve excellence and access through the state fiscal crisis and beyond, was unveiled today (Monday, Dec. 6). The 20 recommendations endorsed by the commission address five broad categories: teaching and curriculum, undergraduate enrollment and access, research and graduate education, fiscal discipline and administrative reform, and public education and advocacy. The commission also cited contingency actions that, if the fiscal situation worsens, might…

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Regents Agenda for December 13 Special Session is Now Posted

Byuclafaculty

The Regents have long scheduled a special session to deal with post-retirement benefits but it did not appear on their website until yesterday. You can find the posting at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/dec10.html No new materials are attached to the posting for December. So presumably, what will be discussed is what was distributed at the regular November meeting. You can find that material at http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/regmeet/nov10.html Apparently, some discussion will occur on the report of the Committee on the Future (UCOF), at least during the beginning of the meeting. I don’t expect any fireworks from the Regents at this meeting, but in the photo…

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Fast Online Degrees

Byuclafaculty

One of the issues raised by the recent review of the University Committee on the Future is the possibility of three-year undergraduate degrees. Efficiency through online courses is another topic that has been raised. Some faculty are concerned that such accelerated degrees would leave students missing something that they might gain through the more traditional four-year approach. In a 1971 radio broadcast, commentator Jean Shepherd seems to have arrived at a substitute for whatever might be missing. A quick click where indicated below suggests the alternative. A modest proposal.

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Three-Year Undergrad Degrees

Byuclafaculty

One of the ideas that has been surfaced as part of the UC Commission on the Future was a three-year undergraduate degree option. The article below notes that a campus of the U of Massachusetts is moving in that direction. UMass will offer 3-year degree plan: Amherst school, following national trend, cites costs (excerpts) By Tracy Jan, Boston Globe | September 27, 2010 Seeking to trim the cost of a college degree at a time when many families are struggling with tuition, the University of Massachusetts Amherst this fall plans to introduce a program to make it easier for students…

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U of Texas Has a UCOF-Like Committee: Endorses Online Ed

Byuclafaculty

Report: Shift colleges’ focus Committee suggests better use of online classes and ‘no-frills’ education By MELISSA LUDWIGSAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS An advisory committee tasked with making Texas higher education more efficient recommended Thursday that the state make better use of online courses and “no-frills” education and tie state funds to course completion rather than enrollment. Other suggestions included pushing students to finish college in four years and requiring them to complete 10 percent of their degrees outside the classroom. Mandated last year by Gov. Rick Perry, the 20-member committee of business and education leaders presented a draft report to the Texas…

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UC to develop online undergraduate degree program

Byuclafaculty

Published Thursday, Jul. 15, 2010, Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/15/2892158/uc-developing-online-undergraduate.html SAN FRANCISCO — University of California regents have agreed to develop an Internet-based undergraduate degree program that will save money and expand access to tuition-paying students. Regent Sherry Lansing told regents at Wednesday’s meeting in San Francisco that the leading-edge online program gives the university system an opportunity to show everyone else how to do it. Regents Chairman Russell Gould says it’s one of the ways UC might thrive in an era of shrinking financial support from the state. An estimated $6 million in private donations is planned so faculty can begin…

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UC must put emphasis on education, not brand

Byuclafaculty

UC must put emphasis on education, not brand Timothy Hampton, Garrison Sposito Tuesday, July 13, 2010, San Francisco Chronicle The UC Board of Regents will discuss this week a proposal by the University of California president’s office for an ambitious plan to market UC online. The proposal entertains the vision of an eventual online bachelor’s degree that could tap new students throughout the world, from “Sheboygan to Shanghai.” In fact, the track record for online higher education is very uneven. It requires enormous up-front investments and continual investments for upgrades. Given these high stakes and the financial pressures on UC…