California is a very large state in terms of population, and therefore the volume of students and number of colleges can make it challenging to work as a cohesive force. There are dozens of community colleges through the state in addition to the CSU and UC system colleges, providing students with a higher education. Economic troubles and budget cutbacks over the past few years have made it tough for California colleges to stay operating at an optimal level, which has forced the three college systems to scramble, making plans to survive. Without a unifying framework there is no way for the community college, CSU, and UC systems to operate in a way that will be optimal for all schools and the students. (more…)
Archive for January, 2010
Study Suggest Better Coordination Needed Between California Colleges
Friday, January 29th, 2010UC San Diego Looks to Establish Law School
Thursday, January 28th, 2010A joint committee has been formed between UC San Diego and the California Western School of Law, to investigate ways in which they could partner together to form a law school at UCSD. Last fall UC Irvine launched the fifth law school in the University of California system, but outside of that there have not been many new law schools in the state. The formation of a UC San Diego School of Law could be a huge gain for students in the region looking to pursue a law degree. However the big challenge at hand is trying to get this law school up and running in a way that is self-supporting, which does not require any money from the state, or UC San Diego funds. (more…)
UC Irvine Study Finds Green Lawns Are Not So Green
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010Many parts of Southern California are known for having very green lawns, despite how large they are or how much they cost to maintain. A new study from researchers at the University of California-Irvine found that the emissions generated by lawn maintenance are too much for the grass lawns to off set by absorbing the carbon dioxide. Keeping the lawns looking green, clean, and healthy takes a lot of time and effort, typically involving emission producing maintenance tools. Things like mowers and leaf blowers output far more emission than a simple green lawn can combat, which is an interesting find as most people only think about how the green grass supports the environment. (more…)
California State University Working to Improve Graduation Rates
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010The California State University system is currently working on plans that would raise the graduation rate by 8% over the next 6 years. Despite drastic budget cuts through the state, the CSU system looks to push forward and take control of the their students graduating. No longer will it be only the students to blame, as the CSU system looks for ways to improve graduation rates, without touching the budget. While nothing is final yet, an example given by Cal State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed was that, “There are simple things we can do, like having faculty take class attendance and if a student misses a second or third time, call or e-mail to find out why and get on it before they get so far behind, get a failing grade and give up hope”. (more…)
UC Davis Led Mini E Study Showing Positive Results
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010Initial results were announced today from a study being led at the University of California-Davis involving BMW Mini E electric vehicles and their consumers, by Dr. Thomas Turrentine. The ongoing study is attempting to acquire real world data around how consumers use the vehicles on a daily basis by tracking 450 users in Los Angeles and New York. The consumers are continually tracking all of their information in a log book allowing the researchers to analyze the data. Consumers are currently about halfway through their one year lease period, which is the duration of the study. (more…)
Stanford University Applications on the Rise
Monday, January 25th, 2010Stanford University is one of the top universities in California, and applications for the freshman class of 2010 have already surpassed last year’s record of 30,428 total applicants. Acceptance rate is another story, as less than 10% of applicants were admitted to Stanford. Harvard and Yale were the only two colleges last year which ranked as being more difficult to be accepted. Despite rough economic conditions in California and the U.S., student continue to flock to colleges and universities across the state. Most colleges in the California State system are fairly affordable, and some of the UC schools are as well. (more…)
$3.1 Million in Bonuses Approved by UC Regents
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010Over the last few weeks the University of California regents has been in the news for various budget issues. This trend continues this week as yesterday the UC regents announced that they approved a very controversial performance bonus of $3.1 million, which will go to 38 senior executives at five of the UC medical centers. Many people in California are not happy about this approval, including union activist who denounced the bonuses. (more…)
Many UC Schools Adopting Waiting Lists
Thursday, January 21st, 2010There has been a running tradition that the University of California system will have to break, in order to deal with all of the budget cuts and issues with state funding. Waiting lists will now be implemented at some of the UC campuses this Spring. Most UC campuses are expected to adopt waiting lists for freshman admission for at least a bit, while the budget troubles pan out. The state budget cuts resulted in about a 6% drop in enrollment capacity for UC schools, but UC is hopeful that this next school year will not be as bad. (more…)
Stadium Retrofit at UC Berkeley Receives UC Regents Approval
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010After a couple years of challenges, Memorial Stadium at UC Berkeley finally received approval from a University of California panel, for their $320 million renovation. This famous stadium is over 80 years old, but unfortunately it straddles the Hayward fault line. Therefore the old construction of Memorial Stadium needs this retrofit so that it can survive a major earthquake which seismologists predict is likely in this area. While this is not a great economic time to spend this amount of money on a renovation, it was stated by University of California leaders that no public money will be used on this retrofit project. Thursday is when the final vote will be decided by the full board, and if approved, work could begin early in the summer later this year. (more…)
