November 2004

NOTES FROM THE ACADEMIC SENATE CHAIR

GEORGE BLUMENTHAL

Dear Colleagues,  

As we begin this academic year, I want to thank those of you who have been willing to devote some of your valuable time, both at the campus and systemwide levels, to the important issues facing the University of California. Your continued involvement is crucial if the Senate is to successfully fulfill its responsibility to shared governance. At the systemwide level, I am pleased to report that the senate leadership has forged a positive and productive relationship with the new UC president and provost, and I believe that shared governance at UC has never been stronger.

 

As you are well aware, UC’s budget was cut again this year, but if our compact with the governor holds, next year UC will see a 3% augmentation to its operating budget and, for the first time, student fee increases will actually remain with the University. Those fee increases will be 8% for undergraduates and 10% for graduate students, with much of this money returned in student aid and with a substantial amount earmarked for graduate students. Funding will also be provided for an additional 5000 students. Most of the budgetary increase will go toward faculty and staff salaries and benefits. Making progress in restoring faculty salaries is of critical importance if UC is to maintain a competitive edge in attracting and retaining our outstanding faculty.

 

Since faculty retention is also closely tied to the quality of our graduate programs, funding for graduate education is another critical issue. The current fee structure is eroding UC’s ability to attract the best and the brightest graduate students from both outside the U.S. and from other states. If this situation is allowed to continue, UC’s research mission will be irreparably harmed. We need to make a convincing case to legislators and the public that first class graduate education is a key to California’s economy and is essential if UC is to remain competitive with the world’s finest institutions. This is a top priority for the Academic Senate this year.

 

As has been widely reported in the press, at their September meeting, the Regents voted by a margin of 2 to 1 to raise the minimum GPA required for UC eligibility from 2.8 to 3.0, effective for frosh entering in Fall 2007. However, because there will be a new SAT I exam in place next year, and because UC applicants will face different achievement test requirements, the Senate’s Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS) plans to review and evaluate the tests and may return with revised proposals regarding eligibility by 2006. BOARS has nearly completed a report on admissions by exception. (Regental policy allows 6% of our admitted freshman to be admitted by exception, but systemwide only 2% of our students are currently admitted through this path.) BOARS has also recently looked at the appropriateness of using geographical preferences as a factor for admission to any UC campus. In addition, BOARS is doing some long range planning regarding how we should be admitting students to UC.

 

Finally, I want to mention that the systemwide senate leadership decided late last spring that the Academic Senate would be better served if the Chair and Vice Chair were to become more proactive in shaping UC’s policy positions on pending state and federal legislation. Because of the many bills affecting faculty and curricula that were introduced last year, we felt that UC’s policy positions should rightfully reflect the faculty’s perspective. We will also be making ourselves more available to participate in legislative hearings, and strategizing with our CCC and CSU colleagues on legislative issues of mutual interest and concern. One of my goals for this year will be to encourage campus senate leaders to begin forging a relationship with their local legislative representatives, so that the faculty voice is heard more clearly in Sacramento. To keep you informed of activities in this arena, beginning with this issue, the Senate Source will include an update on legislative issues as a regular feature.

 

If you have any questions, concerns or comments, I would be pleased to hear from you.

 

Have a great year!

-George Blumenthal