UC Admissions-Not in the CSA Special Report-.but coverage

One audit of UC is not included in the special report on implementation of recommendations,  notably it concerns UC admissions.

But it comes up in this new article in
The San Diego Union-Tribune
"Huge surge in foreign students helping UC San Diego diversify and pay its bills"

Includes:
"In the past decade, the number of international students has soared by almost 7,200 and now accounts for almost 25 percent of the school’s enrollment. The figure was 6 percent in 2008."

...

"UC San Diego also has added more California residents. But their overall share of the student body has dropped by 20 percent in 10 years."
..."The strategy has critics, notably the California State Auditor, who issued a harsh critique of the practice in 2016.

Auditor Elaine Howle said UC campuses pursued high-paying out-of-state and international students to the exclusion of California residents. She also said that the UC system relaxed admission standards for non-residents, making it harder for Californians to compete.

And Howle claimed in her audit that the UC system “could have taken additional steps to generate savings and revenue internally to mitigate the impact of its admissions and financial decisions on residents.”

The UC challenged the audit, saying Howle’s figures were wrong. But the university system later placed caps on non-resident undergraduates."...

--The article includes charts and audio.

And here's the audit findings:

https://www.auditor.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2015-107.pdf

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BTW, on UCSD,, Daily Bruin had this with an interesting reader comment to go along:

UCSD chancellor's renown shouldn't affect the investigation into his bullying | Daily Bruin
https://dailybruin.com/2019/01/31/ucsd-chancellors-renown-shouldnt-affect-the-investigation-into-his-bullying/


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And Daily Cal had this , but it seems their CPRA contents frequently exclude the more high profile cases, such as e.g. this not included here: see

http://www.dailycal.org/2019/02/11/an-institutional-and-pervasive-problem-title-ix-documents-reveal-wave-of-sexual-misconduct-cases-at-uc-santa-cruz/



And the Highlander had:

https://www.highlandernews.org/34662/concerns-new-title-ix-regulations-raise-questions-uc-policy/

Report Released On : Status of Compliance on State Audits of UC

First recall:
https://cloudminder.blogspot.com/2019/02/csa-says-ucop-still-delayed-on.html

This report released today:

Implementation of State Auditor's Recommendations

Report 2019-406

Reports Released in January 2017 Through December 2018

• Summary
• Status of Recommendations at a Glance (PDF)
• Assembly Report (PDF)
• Senate Report (PDF)

https://www.auditor.ca.gov/reports/summary/2019-406

On the Special Report to the CA Assembly text on UC can be found on pages:


Pages 23-thru-27 on audit of UCOP budget practices

On pages 31 -thru 33 for Audit if UCOP not adequately ensuring compliance with employee displacement and services contract policies * There are sections where UC is refusing to comply,  " will not implement"*

On pages 33 -thru 34 for audit of UC PATH


On pages 54 --thru 57 for audit of Title IX related UC's need to take additional steps to address long standing issues with its response to sexual harassment complaints.

and in the  CA Auditor Special Report to CA Senate text on UC text on UC can be found on these corresponding pages:

On pages 7-thru 11 for UCOP failed to disclose tens of millions in surplus funds and it's budget practices are misleading

On pages 15 - thru 17 on UCOP not adequately ensuring compliance with employee displacement and services contract policies
* There are sections where UC is refusing to comply,  " will not implement"*

On pages 17 - thru 18 on UC PATH

On pages 38 -thru 41 on UC  Title IX related UC's need to take additional steps to address long standing issues with its response to sexual harassment complaints.

_________

Now, Today's report- See bar graphs on completion rates for recommendations on these audits of UC:

Page 2 of Summary
Report Number 2016-130 | The University of California Office of the
President: It Failed to Disclose Tens of Millions in Surplus Funds, and Its
Budget Practices Are Misleading (April 2017)
 16
 9
 17

Page 3 of Summary

Report Number 2016-125.1 | The University of California Office of the
President: It Has Not Adequately Ensured Compliance With Its Employee
Displacement and Services Contract Policies (August 2017)
 7
 2
 4
 2

Also on page 3 of Summary:

Report Number 2016-125.2 | The University of California Office
of the President: Increasing Costs and Scheduling Delays Have Hampered
the UCPath Project and Originally Anticipated Savings Are Unlikely to
Materialize (August 2017)
 9

See also :
https://cloudminder.blogspot.com/2019/01/uc-regent-on-uc-path-if-i-were-student.html

Page 7 of Summary

Report Number 2017-125 | The University of California: It Must Take
Additional Steps to Address Long‑Standing Issues With Its Response to
Sexual Harassment Complaints (June 2018)

32

Earlier at the UC Regents meeting there was:
https://cloudminder.blogspot.com/2019/01/uc-state-auditor-has-been-somewhat.html

Those applications trends, Regents meeting, regent appointment to future CA online community college

See:

Good article on :

"New data show drop in applications to University of California after years of growth - Even as selective colleges in many parts of the country report increases, system sees application decline -- after years of increases. Some of the private colleges in the state with large in-state student populations (and ability to focus on minority students) see growth " - Inside Higher Ed
https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2019/02/11/new-data-show-drop-applications-university-california-after-years

- its about out of state applicants realizing that UC has to consider CA residents first in applications process.
-its about UC lack of support services for minority students (and the validity of UC's claim that they are constrained by rules from providing such programs and services) and the fact of private college ability to provide programs and services to those students.
- and when UC talked historically about 'tidal wave' of larger new class sizes, there is now the prognosis that in 10 years there will be a widespread -not just UC- potential decrease in applications across the board. Should we call that reversal a ,.. riptide?

____

There is a UC Regents Health Services Committee meeting today:

https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/meetings/agendas/feb19.html

https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/meetings/videos/feb2019/feb19.html




____

This appointment is the work of UC Regent Ortiz Oakley:

"California’s new online community college taps tech entrepreneur for top job"
The Mercury News
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/02/11/californias-new-online-community-college-taps-tech-entrepreneur-for-top-job/


Also see:

http://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/02/06/californias-online-community-college-finds-its-leader-heather

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These 20 colleges took in 28% of donations to universities last year — they educate 1.6% of undergrads
MarketWatch
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/these-20-colleges-took-in-28-of-donations-to-universities-last-year-they-educate-16-of-undergrads-2019-02-11

UC Wins CRISPR Patent, more

See:
"U.S. patent office indicates it will issue third CRISPR patent to UC
Patent involved in interference proceedings will add to university’s gene-editing portfolio"
https://news.berkeley.edu/2019/02/08/u-s-patent-office-indicates-it-will-issue-third-crispr-patent-to-uc/

"UC To Be Granted CRISPR Patent"
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/02/08/university-of-california-to-be-granted-crispr-patent/

Also:

https://www.statnews.com/2019/02/08/the-university-of-california-gets-its-key-crispr-patent/

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/02/new-patent-win-university-california-upends-crispr-legal-battle?r3f_986=

_____

Also there was:
"CA Gov. Newsom's higher ed advisor to tackle access and financial aid issues
Lande Ajose said she shares other parents' concerns about college costs and graduation rates."

https://edsource.org/2019/gov-newsoms-new-higher-education-advisor-to-tackle-access-and-financial-aid-issues-at-californias-campuses/608217


"Gov. Newsom and his school spending ideas are popular with Californians, poll finds
Immigration also concerns California residents, although Trump’s ratings are low."
https://edsource.org/2019/newsom-and-his-school-spending-ideas-are-popular-poll-finds/608340

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On the research there's also:
CasX
https://news.berkeley.edu/story_jump/scientists-find-new-and-smaller-crispr-gene-editor-casx/

And
"Stanford investigates links to scientist in baby gene-editing scandal"
The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/feb/08/stanford-investigates-links-to-scientist-in-baby-gene-editing-scandal

CSA Says UCOP Still Delayed On Transparency Reforms It Agreed to Adopt

Update : here is the report :
https://www.auditor.ca.gov/reports/summary/2019-406

____________________________

Original Post:

Seems the latest CA State Auditor (CSA) update/findings, report on UCOP are embargoed, or not yet fully publicly available yet -- once the report is available will include the link.

2019-406 - Implementation of State Auditor's Recommendations
Est. Release Date: February 12, 2019
And,
https://www.auditor.ca.gov/reports/recommendation_status/2016-130

Overall Assessment

But for now this coverage:

"State auditor says UC's Napolitano has not implemented transparency reforms"

https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/State-auditor-says-UC-s-Napolitano-has-not-13595656.php

Includes:

"We are still concerned about the lack of sufficient transparency related to fund balance amounts,” totaling $122 million for seven specific programs, in Napolitano’s budget for the current fiscal year, Howle wrote in a report released Tuesday that assessed UC’s progress as of October. “Perhaps of greater concern, the absence of sufficient reserve policies allows the office of the president to retain and maintain virtually an unlimited amount of fund balances and reserves.”

"Howle added that the president’s office “continues to lack sufficient transparency that would allow the governor and the legislature to understand what fund balance awards are available to reallocate to campuses.”

"Reserves should not be standardized, but specific to the needs of individual programs, UC officials added, highlighting one of the areas where the university and the auditor simply disagree on approach. Another is the timing of UC’s budget for the following fiscal year: The auditor says it should be revealed in April — in time for the governor and lawmakers to incorporate its figures into their own budget presentations — while the university says it can only be in May, to coincide with when the regents meet."

...
As for the unfinished reserve policies flagged by Howle, UC officials say they plan finalize them this year, and are creating a “replicable annual process” for better studying their own funds, reserves and expenditures.

The state audit two years ago was the first to look solely at UC’s $813.5 million headquarters, which oversees the public university’s 10 campuses, five hospitals and three national laboratories. Howle’s discovery of the president’s reserves — much of it used for university projects but never disclosed to the regents in Napolitano’s annual budget presentation — prompted her to prescribe the overhaul.

The audit found that the president’s office spent less than it budgeted, but requested more state funding based on the higher, budgeted amount. Salaries and job perks in the president’s office were also higher than those for comparable state employees, the audit found.

The president’s office also regularly reimbursed the regents for extravagant parties, including a $270-a-head affair held the night before they voted to raise tuition. The regents ended the practice after stories appeared in The Chronicle.

The audit included 33 recommended repairs, including 10 to be completed by April 30, and the rest over the next two years. Napolitano and the regents said"...
See full article.

Since the article mentions claims about scheduling conflicts due to UC Regents schedule of meetings, recall this post about this recent odd exchange between CSA and UCOP:

https://cloudminder.blogspot.com/2019/01/uc-state-auditor-has-been-somewhat.html



And, once again, will link to report here once it is available.

The State of THIS Union...

See:

University of California staff researchers opt to form a union, joining postdocs | Science
https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2019/02/university-california-staff-researchers-opt-form-union-joining-postdocs


Includes:
..."The illogic of gaining experience and responsibility while losing pay and fringe benefits she had as a “trainee” ... A number “are also bringing in grant money” as principal investigators on their own grants.

If successful, the new unit would be, to our knowledge, the first exclusively for scientists in a status that, Priest believes, doesn’t get “the attention or respect that it deserves.” But, like many unionization efforts before it, the academic researchers are currently locked in a bureaucratic back-and-forth with an employer that appears reluctant to recognize a new bargaining unit.

..."The UC administration, however, has raised objections. As a result, PERB has not yet granted the group final certification. According to the ARU website, the administration stated that it “reasonably doubts the appropriateness of the proposed unit.” When asked, UC did not provide Science Careers a specific explanation of its basis for objecting."...

"UC postdocs, for example, receive 12 sick days a year that become available at the start of work. Academic researchers with full-time appointments, on the other hand, accrue 1 day of sick leave per month and may only use the sick days they have accrued. Those appointed for more than half time but less than full time accrue only at a prorated rate. Postdocs, per their negotiated contract, can only be fired for “just cause” and can only be laid off for lack of funds and with 30 days written notice. Academic researchers, however, are at-will employees who can be fired or disciplined for a range of reasons and without notice. As a result, academic researchers often feel “a lot of instability,” Priest says.

Despite the general enthusiasm for union representation, “actually contacting everybody was the challenge,” Priest says. That’s because the potential union members work in many different fields, functions, and places—labs, offices, off-campus field stations, and even research boats—across the various schools and campuses that make up the university system, and with no network that connected all or even most of them. The term “academic researcher” was not widely used at UC before the organizing effort. As the postdoc union did for postdocs a decade ago, the new unit would help to establish identity and solidarity for a group not previously accustomed to having them."

____

On DACA

New York Times
Janet Napolitano on DACA’s Enduring Legacy
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/02/opinion/janet-napolitano-on-dacas-enduring-legacy.html


And her role on this commission and its $3 Billion fix:

http://www.capradio.org/articles/2019/02/06/california-medical-provider-shortfall-is-a-looming-crisis-this-commission-has-a-plan/


____

Then there's...
Why does she do stuff like this?:

NPR
Janet Napolitano Answers The Question:
https://www.npr.org/2019/01/31/690230674/janet-napolitano-answers-the-question-what-scares-you

Helping with that?

See:
Daily Cal "UC Researchers Partner with Twitter to Improve Machine Learning Usage"
"UC Berkeley researchers partner with Twitter to improve machine learning usage"
http://www.dailycal.org/2019/02/04/uc-berkeley-researchers-partner-with-twitter-to-improve-machine-learning-usage/

Includes:"In general, if you think about machine learning, it’s composed of three pieces. The first piece is the interesting part for Twitter, such as finding out about what people talk about,” said Gerald Friedland, an EECS adjunct assistant professor. “For machine learning, you use the data. For example, you can increase the revenue by finding patterns.”


"Twitter CEO: Trump Is No Worse Than Obama"
Daily Beast
https://www.thedailybeast.com/twitter-ceo-jack-dorsey-tells-joe-rogan-trump-is-no-worse-than-obama


____
See also:
"Opinion | Mark Zuckerberg, Let Me Fix That Op-Ed You Wrote"
The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/25/opinion/mark-zuckerberg-wsj.html