UC Regents recap – July 18

The governing board of the University of California met for the third day of its July meeting at UC San Francisco on Thursday. The Board of Regents discussed the cohort-based tuition model, contracting outside labor and the budget of the UC Office of the President.

Governance Committee

• The committee discussed adopting a set of principles on contracting outside labor, such as ensuring the UC will not contract out solely on the basis of savings and ensuring contractors will comply with the University’s Fair Wage/Fair Work plan. However, the committee tabled the vote until the September meeting.

• Regent Chair John Pérez suggested the regents eliminate the possibility of economic benefit of contracting out by paying outside contractors the same as normal workers.

Board of Regents

• Emily Webber, a rising third-year genetics and genomics student at UC Davis and the chair of the UC Davis California Public Interest Research Group chapter, said same-day voter registration should be offered on the UC campuses, adding that it’s difficult for students to vote during school days without easy access to same-day voter registration on campus.

• Caroline Siegel-Singh, a rising fourth-year political science student at UC San Diego and the 2018-2019 UC Student Association president, said she thinks the UC should focus on reaching out to more students in California who it isn’t currently serving. She added some people, like those in the workforce who are reentering higher education much later in life, need additional support from the UC.

• The regents voted to approve the proposed budget for the UC Office of the President. Zoanne Nelson, associate vice president of the Strategy and Program Management Office, said the proposed budget for the UC Office of the President for 2019-2020 is $941.7 million, a reduction from the previous year’s budget.

• David Alcocer, associate vice president of the Budget Analysis and Planning office, gave a report to the board on cohort-based tuition. He said the cohort-based tuition model would ensure that once a student enrolls in the university, they could expect tuition to stay flat for some period of time, with any tuition increase only applying to the incoming class.

• Alcocer said the benefits of the model include providing predictable tuition for students and families, improved planning for campuses and increased financial aid to help cover the total cost of attendance.

• Nathan Brostrom, executive vice president of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, said they are still unsure about which students would be eligible, which student charges would be included and how the model would be phased in. He added that for the adoption to be successful, the UC would need to form a financial partnership with the state and make it clear to students and families that the UC might suspend the plan.

• Aidan Arasasingham, a rising third-year global studies student at UCLA, said the regents should consider the impacts of the cohort-based tuition model, which would keep tuition flat for each class, when deciding whether or not to adopt the model. He said the regents should consider the level of predictability the model will provide, its impacts on the quality of the UC and its impacts on accessibility and affordability.

Contributing reports from Maanas Oruganti, Daily Bruin contributor.