- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Patrick Lenz, UC’s vice president for budget and capital resources, issued the following statement today, Jan. 9, 2014, after Gov. Jerry Brown proposed a state budget for 2014–15:
“The leadership of the University of California appreciates Gov. Brown's commitment to full funding for the second year of his multi-year budget plan for the university. The governor is proposing an additional $142.2 million from the state general fund, representing a 5 percent increase in state funding for UC over the previous year. The governor also proposes $50 million for Innovation Awards to increase the number of baccalaureate degrees, reduce the time to degree and ease the transfer process for California Community College students. This is a competitive grant program open to UC, California State University and the community college systems. UC already exceeds its national comparison institutions in time to degree; however, we welcome any funding that would increase the number of baccalaureate degrees awarded and create greater transparency for community college transfers.
“The governor’s proposed increase in state general funds and UC’s continuing efforts to achieve savings through administrative efficiencies will preclude any tuition increase in the 2014–15 academic year. In addition, UC students will benefit from the state's new Middle Class Scholarship Program to be implemented in the fall of 2014. This program will provide a 40 percent reduction in tuition and fees for families with incomes up to $150,000. While only 30 percent of UC students pay full tuition and fees, the Middle Class Scholarship Program will provide greater assistance to students who may not qualify for financial aid or may qualify only for partial aid.
"The University of California will continue working with the governor and the Legislature to recognize funding priorities for enrolling more California first-time freshmen and community college transfers as well as the critical need to reinvest in the academic quality that allows more faculty hiring, graduate student support, and funding for instructional equipment, technology and UC libraries."
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Patrick Lenz, UC vice president for budget and capital resources, issued the following statement today, June 27, 2013, after Governor Jerry Brown signed the 2013-14 state budget:
“Today, the governor signed a state budget that represents a reinvestment in the University of California and provides critical funding stability after five years of fiscal uncertainty that challenged student access and affordability.
“The 2013-14 budget, which includes a 5 percent funding increase for UC, will allow us to freeze undergraduate tuition for the second consecutive year. We are hopeful that its multi-year UC funding plan – as well as the new Middle Income Scholarship Program – will permit campuses to hire more faculty, add much needed course sections, increase staff support and provide a new level of affordability to the university’s students and their families. The additional $142 million earmarked for the university will allow us to fund a new school of medicine in Riverside, expand a systemwide online learning initiative and construct more classrooms at UC Merced. Moreover, the university now has the authority to refinance existing debt that the state previously issued on UC’s behalf, creating savings that will go toward funding our retirement plan with potential additional savings to address other essential university programs.
“Like other state-supported entities, UC did not receive everything it asked for in this budget, but the funding increase certainly puts the university on a sound financial trajectory. We will continue to cut administrative costs and make progress on performance measures such as increasing graduation rates and shortening the time it takes to earn a degree. We thank Governor Brown and the state legislature for elevating the 2013-14 state funding to the University of California as one of their highest budget priorities.”
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Patrick Lenz, the University of California system’s vice president for budget and capital resources, made the following statement today (May 14) after Gov. Jerry Brown presented his revised state budget proposal for 2013–14:
“With this proposal, the governor is continuing his multi-year funding commitment to increase the University of California by 5 percent in the 2013–14 fiscal year and then 5 percent, 4 percent, and 4 percent in the subsequent fiscal years. In addition, the administration is continuing its support for UC restructuring debt to achieve $80 million in annual savings. Those savings will provide not only the additional fiscal stability to meet UC mandatory costs, but also funding to re-invest in the quality initiatives that will support the governor’s plan for additional performance outcome measures. The governor has withdrawn his 150 percent unit cap on state subsidized courses that would have impacted 2,200 UC students in the 2013–14 academic year.
“UC will continue working with the governor and the Legislature to address critical funding needs, such as a $15 million budget augmentation for the UC Riverside School of Medicine, a capital facilities funding plan to provide student access and address seismic retrofit, and funding for the state’s employer retirement contribution.”
- Author: Carolyn McMillan
UC to get modest boost from state budget
California Gov. Jerry Brown today (Jan. 10) proposed a state spending plan for the coming fiscal year that would provide a modest boost to the University of California's operating budget for 2013-14.
The state legislature still must agree to the spending plan, usually a lengthy negotiation process continues through spring. If enacted, the plan would restore $256.5 million of the $900 million cut from the university's state funding over the past five years. The California State University system would receive a similar budget increase.
"The leadership of the University of California is grateful that Gov. Brown is proposing re-investment in higher education," said Patrick Lenz, UC's vice president of budget and capital resources. "After absorbing nearly a billion dollars in state funding cuts during the past five years, we see his budget proposal as a very positive step forward in a process that will unfold over the next several months."
Nearly half of the $256.5 million UC would receive under Brown's plan is revenue that had been promised in return for UC's decision to forego a tuition increase this year despite a $750 million reduction in state funding.
In addition to the new revenue, Brown's budget plan would shift general obligation bonds to the university's base budget, a move that would add $201.7 million for both capital and operating budget purposes at UC. An additional $10.2 million would be provided for debt service on lease purchase revenue bonds. The transfer of the general obligation bonds to the university is significant because future state budget adjustments would be based on a UC appropriation of $2.84 billion rather than the current $2.37 billion.
UC officials said they were still reviewing the details of Brown's budget but agreed with its emphasis on holding down operating costs and ensuring that UC remains affordable to the state's students and families.
Lenz noted that UC is well on track to reducing systemwide administrative expenses by half a billion dollars over a five-year period, part of its ongoing effort to cut costs, find new revenue sources and work more efficiently.
"The state's recent disinvestment in higher education has forced significant tuition increases, but it's important to remember that tuition revenue covered only about 38 percent of the budget gap resulting from the cuts in state funding," Lenz said. "The rest of the shortfall was met through spending cutbacks, efficiencies and alternative revenue sources.
"Nonetheless, the university has continued to offer a seat to all eligible students wishing to attend UC and has ensured access for students from low- and moderate-income families. As a result, nearly half of all resident UC undergraduate students pay no tuition. We share Gov. Brown's interest in stabilizing tuition, and will explore every opportunity to do so."
VP Patrick Lenz's statement: Brown’s proposed budget: positive step forward
- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
President Mark G. Yudof and UC's 10 chancellors today (Nov. 7) issued the following letter to the UC community:
To the UC Community:
We write today to the entire University of California community — students and their families, faculty and staff, alumni and friends — to express our relief and gratitude that the voters of California have approved Proposition 30. We are especially grateful for the Academic Senate Memorial on UC funding, and to Chair Sherry Lansing and the UC Regents for publicly endorsing this proposition. The Regents' endorsement, along with those of other public higher education sectors, gave the proposition much-needed visibility and momentum statewide.
The passage of Governor Brown's budget initiative has created an opportunity to bring stability to the funding of public higher education in California. The task ahead of us now is to do everything possible to strengthen the capacity of the University to serve people in every part of the state through academic excellence and public service.
Many of you worked hard to spread the word about Proposition 30. This is particularly true of students, who both registered tens of thousands of new voters and lobbied broadly on behalf of Proposition 30. As a public institution, we weren't allowed by law to advocate for how people should vote, but together we shared why Proposition 30 was of paramount importance to the University of California. It is clear that our message resonated.While there is much more work ahead of us, we are confident that this success will pave the way to a more stable future for the University of California, and to a brighter future for the state of California.
President Mark G. Yudof University of California |
Chancellor Michael Drake University of California, Irvine |
Chancellor Dorothy Leland University of California, Merced |
Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau University of California, Berkeley |
Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann University of California, San Francisco |
Chancellor Timothy P. White University of California, Riverside |
Chancellor Gene Block University of California, Los Angeles |
Chancellor Linda Katehi University of California, Davis |
Chancellor Henry T. Yang University of California, Santa Barbara |
Chancellor George R. Blumenthal University of California, Santa Cruz |
Chancellor Pradeep Khosla University of California, San Diego |