The University of Southern California has been very popular in 2010, and we are only a few months into the year. USC is once again in the news as they name the 11th president of the university, C.L. Max Nikias. Currently Nikias is the executive vice president and provost, but he will officially become the president on August 3rd as reported by USC. Nikias is going to succeed Steven Sample, who decided to retire last year in November. Sample has been president of the university since 1991, and he will be leaving the university in good hands with Nikias at the helm. Over his educational career, Nikias has raised millions for USC and the Viterbi School of Engineering where he was previously the dean. Students and faculty welcome the change, and think that the university will be led well by Nikias.

USC, as well as other UC schools in the state, still has a big battle ahead of them due to budget cuts. Because of this, having people like Nikias as president is a smart move as California colleges and universities need to make sure that they do everything they can to bring in revenue, including raising money for their endowments.  Nikias has been with USC since 1991, so he has an intimate knowledge of all of the inner workings of the school which should help him as president. He even beat out 75 other educators from around the U.S., that the USC trustees also considered for the role as president. Later this year we will get a chance to see what Nikias does with his first few months in office.

California colleges have been struggling with budget cuts for the past couple years and 2010-2011 looks to be another rough year for the CSU and UC schools in the state. President Horace Mitchell of California State University, Bakersfield announced last week a budget plan which will include raising student fees, cutting staff, and canceling winter quarter graduation ceremonies. The plan would also cut four sports programs as well for the 2010-2011 school year at CSUB. Another rough part to these budget cuts is that it will force many classes to go from average class sizes of 35 to 70 students. Learning in large classes like this is more difficult for many students, and this is why many choose small schools so they can get more dedicated attention from the professors. This scenario is common among all of the UC and CSU campuses in the state as they try and make due with massive budget cuts. Unfortunately students and the economy of California are the ones who hurt most, because without students graduating the state will lack the educated job force it needs to reverse the economic troubles in the state.

Students who play sports are being presented with fewer choices every year of colleges where they can earn a scholarship to play sports. However, there is not much that CSUB can do, nor can any of the other UC or CSU schools in the state. CSUB is receiving a $1.7 million one-time stimulus fund as are other schools in the CSU system, but it is not enough to close the budget gap at any of the CSU colleges. The next year will be interesting as we see how these budget cuts affect students, and if they will opt for career colleges in California which are private and students know they can graduate on time and take the classes they need.

Community colleges in California have had to deal with major budget cuts, which have forced many of the schools to completely cut some classes, or offer them fewer times each year. This has made it extremely difficult for students to get into the classes they need in order to graduate with their associates degree. In order to help more students complete their campus-based associates degree requirements, the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office announced this week that they have teamed up with Kaplan University to allow students in California to enroll in single courses online. Another part of the agreement would permit graduates of California community colleges to transfer to Kaplan University if the want to complete their bachelor’s degree online for a reduced rate.

This opportunity is starting to look very attractive to many California community college students who are having difficulty furthering their education. There are only so many classes that will be approved by each of the 110 community colleges in California, but the overall addition of classes will be a tremendous help to thousands of students. The first part of the program, to help with the completion of an associate’s degree, is the Kaplan University Community College Connection program, and the second part is the Save My Credits Transfer program which helps with the bachelors degree completion. One of the other positive aspects to this relationship is the strengthening of the recognition for career colleges like Kaplan University which ensures that students can take the classes they need to graduate on time. It will be interesting to see how long this partnership lasts, and if more career colleges like Kaplan University will have the opportunity to help California community college students complete their degree.

The 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”. With roughly 450,000 total students, the CSU system is the largest university system in the country, producing about 90,000 graduates every year. If this new program to increase graduation rates is successful, it could mean closer to 100,000 could graduate every year. A big portion of this graduation plan involves closing the gap between white students and underrepresented minority students.

This attitude may scare some people as it could mean more streamlined general education, with less choices so students can focus on their major and graduate. Since no formal plans have been laid out, it is still unclear the exact route that the CSU system will take for their students. The idea of students, faculty, and administrators coming together as a team is a great idea that can only help the future of education. Not all of the 23 CSU schools would have the same plan, as they work to put the final touches on their plans for the upcoming fall term. The bottom line is that students will have a more clear path to graduation, with academic advice along the way to ensure that all questions or concerns are addressed.

Initial 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. The initial results showed that most users can suffice with a 100 miles for most daily driving needs. It also found that at home charging was enough for most to do this daily driving, and that additional charging was needed most at work or other places where the vehicle was for long periods during the day. Overall drivers have been quite happy so far, with the biggest demands revolving around space issues to have more people or cargo in the BMW Mini E electric vehicles.

UC Davis is frequently in the news for various studies which they are conducting, and this BMW Mini E electric vehicle study could be very helpful to the future of this genre of vehicle. The study indicates that most of the people so far are reporting an average range of about 70 – 100 miles per day, and that most trips for Mini E drivers have been averaging about 30 miles. With so many vehicles on the road in California contributing to the pollution, it is only a matter of time before more people start to embrace electric vehicles as the technology advances.

After 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.

One of the interesting things to note is that this retrofit project would reduce the overall capacity of Memorial Stadium from 71,799 to 62,717. The seismic retrofit will force the stadium to close during the 2011 football season, and games will be played at an off-campus location. It is expected that the team will return to the stadium for the 2012 football season. Not much was said as to how this reduction in seating capacity will effect long term revenues for the football team. California universities and colleges with football teams tend to drive significant revenues and publicity for the schools. Having the seating of a stadium reduced by over 10% is a significant amount that will have to be made up somehow. Overall this change will help to secure the safety of thousands of people who attend UC Berkeley football games.

If you are a law student in graduate school in California then you are most likely researching and studying to take the bar exam soon. Michael Gharry, a local developer and former law student created the BarMax Iphone app to help students easily study on the go. BarMax is also now the most expensive app you can buy in the entire Apple Itunes storefront at $999.99. Studying for the California bar exam is not easy, and passing it is even more difficult. Most students enroll in very expensive training classes and courses to help them be fully prepared to take and pass the California bar exam. Expensive apps like this have tried to become successful on the Iphone, but rarely have the very expensive apps added much value to a users life, which is why sales have been poor. Most people prefer free Iphone apps, and even those that they download are often rarely opened again or deleted after a few months of non-usage.

Consumers in general are spending more for apps, and becoming increasingly comfortable making app purchases via their smart phone. Traditional mobile phones are slowly dying, as more and more people migrate towards using smart phones. The Iphone, Android, and BlackBerry are leading the way in the smart phone and mobile app market, and 2010 is already looking promising as more people ditch their old mobile phones. It is too early to tell if the pricey BarMax bar exam Iphone app will become successful and actually get people to cough up the $999.99 to be able to study while on the go.

Over the past few years the economy in California has had many events which have caused it to slow down dramatically, resulting in more people losing their jobs across the state. It is estimated that approximately 1.5 million workers by November of 2009 have lost jobs, which represents roughly 10% of the overall workforce in California.  These reports from the Employment Development Department also indicated that a year ago there were 911,000 part-time workers, who would typically be full-time workers. Almost everyone that the EED is tracking is working part-time because the economy is struggling. As the economy slowed down many consumers became more thoughtful of what they were buying, which led to a reduction in demand for many goods and services. Without a constant demand of goods, many employers have difficulty keeping people on full time because of the roller coaster nature of business at this time.

Not all view part-time work as a bad thing as it allows them time to look for a better full time job, or time to enroll in a California college to further their education. With flexible online schedules, students have an easy time taking classes while working part-time. Governor Schwarzenegger has vowed to make jobs a top priority while in office, but with all of the economic troubles it has been hard to make positive progress. The Governor is also working to make California colleges and universities a priority which many believe is key to long term economic growth. 2010 is already shaping up to be an interesting year for higher education, jobs, and the economy in California.

One of the dormitories at California State University Sacramento is allowing the college to save money and conserve energy at the same time. This energy efficient dormitory is also what earned the university a check from the Sacramento Municipal Utility District this week. CSU Sacramento president Alexander Gonzalez was pleased to accept a $74,000+ check for the school to work on future energy efficient projects relating to student housing. Savings by Design is the program going on across California that is rewarding design programs that greatly exceed the minimum energy standards set by California. The overall green design and materials used at the residence hall at CSU Sacramento is quite impressive, and is helping set a trend that more colleges and universities in California are trying to follow.

CSU Sacramento is not the only college in California pushing towards a green campus. UC Merced recently completed a 1 megawatt solar power system on the campus which significantly lowers energy requirements for much of the year. Many other college campuses in California have projects underway to try and save overtime and reduce over all energy dependency. Colleges and universities in California are not the only ones receiving these energy efficient rewards. The program extends to various business or design teams who need help trying to meet their very ambitious goals of energy efficiency. California is already leading the way in green jobs, and this type of program will only help fuel interest in energy efficient design, environmental responsibility, and sustainability among residents and businesses.

Oakland based Amy Sarabi, a graduate of the California College of the Arts in San Francisco is contestant on season 7 of of the hit television show Project Runway. Sarabi is originally from Texas, but moved to California when she was 18 to further her education and passion for fashion. She first went to Diablo Valley College which is in the East Bay area of San Francisco Bay in California, later getting into the California College of the Arts. Her senior collection at CCA was comprised of numerous unique couture visions, which she has become well known for designing. While Project Runway will be very different than fashion school, it is still a challenge which friends and family of Sarabi think she can conquer. The California College of the Arts, with schools in Oakland and San Francisco, is constantly getting mentioned in the press for the work that their graduates produce and the events they put on at the school.

Now Sarabi might go down as a notable alumni of the California College of the Arts, along with other well known graduates like Robert Arneson, Billy Al Bengston, Christopher González, and Tomie dePaola. It is likely that Sarabi might face more stress in the Project Runway competition that she has to date in her fashion career, due to the fast time line and extreme deadlines of the show. Project runway season 7 starts tomorrow where you can support Sarabi in her quest to win. Overall, California is quite lucky to be home to so many great art and design colleges for students across the state and the U.S. to attend to pursue their passion.