UC Regents recap – Nov. 16

The University of California Regents, the governing body of the UC, met Wednesday for its bimonthly board meeting at UC San Francisco. Regents discussed the results of federal and state elections, the board’s dedication to inclusion and diversity and addressing misconduct by regents done outside University business.

Finance and Capital Strategies Committee

• The committee reported that UCLA’s costs per student are the highest among UC campuses. UCLA spends about $2 billion on instruction for its 48,000 enrolled students a year. Other campuses spend about half the amount for the same number of students. UCLA also receives the most state funding. The regents said this is because UCLA has the largest medical center and number of students involved in health and science industries.
• The UC system aims to enroll 2,500 additional California residents to its undergraduate campuses next year. The Budget Act of 2016 will provide $18.5 million to the UC to partially fund the enrollment increase.
• Funding is contingent on whether or not UC demonstrates to the California Department of Finance that it has taken sufficient action to enroll enough students to meet that goal and has adopted a policy to limit nonresident enrollment.

Academic and Student Affairs Committee

• The committee continued discussion from its September meeting about projected changes in student demography through 2040. The board outlined that since the UC is a land-grant public university, it has responsibilities to serve state residents directly and indirectly. The UC meets these responsibilities through its goals of teaching, research and public service. It also does so by meeting the terms of the California Master Plan for Higher Education, which guarantees admission to all California resident freshman applicants who meet eligibility requirements.
• Student Academic Preparation and Educational Partnerships helps prepare California students for college. The UC is expanding its services, including transcript evaluation services, online a-g interactive courses and 45 additional UC Scout courses by 2018 to help serve needy schools and students.
• Provost and Executive Vice President Aimée Dorr said UC enrollment has quadrupled over the past 50 years but graduate enrollment has not kept up with investment in undergraduate education. She added the proportion of graduate students has decreased markedly over the last 50 years, from 30 percent of all students to 20 percent. She added the relative decrease of graduate students has not benefitted campuses.
• UC President Janet Napolitano said she thinks one of the ways to increase diversity at the UC is reaching out directly to minority communities about affordability and accessibility, and reaching prospective students through the media they pay attention to.

Public Engagement & Development Committee

• The committee discussed the federal government’s impact on the UC system. Currently the UC system receives about $8.5 billion in federal funding annually. It gets $3 billion in federal research funds per year, $1.6 billion in federal student aid, and $3.1 billion in Medicare and Medicaid payments.
• The committee also reviewed President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign positions. Trump has said he wants to reduce the regulatory burden on colleges and universities, overhaul the federal student loan system and repeal and/or replace the Affordable Care Act. The committee said it will discuss Trump’s policies at future meetings because none are outlined in detail.
• The committee also heard about the potential impact of Proposition 55, which extended higher tax rates on high income earners. UC officials said state funding can vary greatly because income tax revenue can also be unstable.

Governance And Compensation Committee

• The committee voted to approve an amendment requiring regents to attend sexual harassment training that is already required for supervisors at the UC to attend. It also voted to approve an amendment that would make behavior outside of University business eligible for sanction by the Board of Regents the regents’ ethics policy or the University’s sexual violence and sexual harassment policy. Chairperson Monica Lozano introduced the amendments in response to Regent Norman Pattiz’s sexual harrassment of a former employee.
• Regent John Pérez said he was concerned about what forms of private conduct beyond sexual harassment and assault, including business practices, would be eligible for sanction under the Statement of Ethical Values.

Contributing reports from Laurel Scott, Theodora Ng and Yun Kyung (Anny) Kim, Daily Bruin staff.