UCOP

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At Last, Something Is Heard

Byuclafaculty

We at this blog have been waiting for UCOP and the Regents to get involved in the state budget. It’s late in the game – a simple-majority budget was passed last night that (as previously noted on this blog) chops another $150 million from UC. But at last, we are hearing from UC’s powers-that-be. Gov. Brown could veto the budget. If he signs it, he could cut spending in particular lines but can’t raise spending. However, other bills can be enacted that modify the budget. In any case, the UCOP press release reproduced below in italics could be the start…

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Understatement of the Week

Byuclafaculty

See the prior post on the simple-majority budget and the further cuts it includes for UC. The Democratic plan …calls for $150 million reductions each to the University of California and California State University systems. UC Office of the President spokesman Steve Montiel responded as follows: “We are assessing the latest proposal from the state Senate, and it’s too soon to say with certainty what the impact would be. But there’s no question that additional cuts would not be good news for UC and the Californians it serves. The university already has taken steps to absorb a $500 million cut,…

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Steamroller Could Be Approaching on Pension

Byuclafaculty

The California business community is pushing for a grand deal on the state budget which would include pension reform of some type. And, as yours truly endlessly points out on this blog, UC’s pension modifications approved by the Regents last December could be steamrollered through some ballot proposition that would be part of the deal. No sign yet, however, that UCOP or the Regents are taking active steps to avoid that outcome. From the San Francisco Chronicle online: Using bizspeak, the (business) leaders say they think that California should have a “financial workout plan.” In the business world, a financial…

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Wake Up UCOP and Regents: The Governor Says There Is Still Time to Make Your Voice Heard

Byuclafaculty

Is there a budget deal in sight and does it include some kind of pension limit? Not yet – but the clock is ticking. UCOP and the Regents need to wake up and make their voice heard on behalf of UC, particularly on pensions, but also on the budget in general. See below. April 22: …(Governor Brown) said a budget deal remains elusive and could take several more weeks to reach. “We’re not at the point of, ‘OK, if you do this pension reform and A, B, C and D regulatory, you’ve got a deal,’ ” Brown told reporters after…

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Gambling on Online?

Byuclafaculty

Prof. Michael Meranze pointed me to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Ed concerning UC’s apparent change in policy regarding funding for its online education initiative. Apparently, there will now be borrowing to launch the project, although previous plans were to rely on fund raising. Dan Simmons, chair of the Academic Senate, was quite cautious about the initiative in the Chronicle article: (excerpt) Daniel L. Simmons, chair of the system’s academic senate, said on Friday that he supported the pilot program and understood the need to experiment with online education even during times of crisis. The senate formally endorsed…

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Part III: UCOP & Regents – Have You Talked With the Governor (Yet)? Where Are You?

Byuclafaculty

Below is a press release from Governor Brown’s office issued yesterday. It explicitly mentions CalPERS and CalSTRS. Less clear is what other state plans – including UC’s plan – would be included. One of the headings say that it applies to state and local plans. The release has definite items and some items that are under consideration. I have put in large italics some of the latter items that could pose problems for UC – depending on the precise details. Note that a pension cap is mentioned, but there is no reference to the precise $106,000 figure that earlier press…

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UCOP & Regents Out of the Loop on Public Pensions: Here is a way to get into the loop

Byuclafaculty

As has been noted on previous blog posts, UC is in danger of letting the pension issue get away from it. The governor has – according to news reports – agreed to a $106,000 cap on public pensions. Legislative Republicans have filed an initiative putting a cap of 60% of final pay on pensions. Both caps clearly apply to new hires and clearly do not apply to those already retired. There is uncertainty about what would be applicable to current employees. The initiative – which is poorly drafted – explicitly covers UC. We don’t know about the possible $106,000 cap…

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Crack Up: Campuses Beginning to Resist UCOP’s Allocation of Budget Cut

Byuclafaculty

As things get tough, the notion of a unified UC system ultimately controlled from Oakland is beginning to crack. See the item below. UC Berkeley asked to absorb $80M of Brown’s $500M cut (excerpt) Feb. 7, 2011 | Louis Freedberg | California Watch University of California President Mark Yudof has set a target for the Berkeley campus to cut $80,800,000 from its budget for the coming year, as the 10-campus university system struggles to come to terms with a $500 million reduction in funds proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown. A cut of that magnitude would constitute 16.2 percent of the…