California’s broke and the boys in Sac (as it seems to be) sure as f*ck ain’t got our back. But Chancellor Birgeneau may have a plan.

Yesterday the Chancellor reassuringly declared that big universities don’t cry; they reassess their operational spending. Starting soon, “Operational Excellence,” a collaborative effort between in-house and private consultants, will examine Berkeley’s costs with the hope of arriving at a plan for greater financial independence from state piggy banks in the long term. Oh, and don’t call it privatizing. Details below:

The effort will begin in early October and continue through March. It will be overseen by Birgy himself along with several hundred faculty members, staff, students and alumni. At the heart of it all, a private consulting firm that has done similar work for other elite universities will lead the pursuit.

Basically, they’re looking to see where the money’s at, what it’s doing there, and whether it can be put instead where the professors are.

In his letter, Birgeneau addresses concerns about the prospect of outside consultants wielding a surgeon’s razor over UC Berkeley’s proverbial cardio-vascular system. He notes the need for an objective approach and cites the role of campus members to provide check and balance.

Periodic progress reports will be posted here. God speed, Birgy, from the Clog!

Image Source: taylorkoa22 under Creative Commons.
Chancellor announces Operational Excellence effort [News Center]

With the UC Board of Regents threatening to cut enrollment without more funding from the state and a recent phenomenon of beginning sentences with “With the economy as it is … ” it seems that Berkeley thinks it’s finally time to tell us what everybody already knows: the economy is failing, nobody has any money and we’re all screwed. Surprise!

Looming state budget shortfalls, declining endowments and tuition increases, oh my! Sponsored by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a symposium will be held this Tuesday to discuss the economic fate of the UC system and do what Berkeley does best: hold open forums for discourse on important controversial topics. Hopefully, though, this one will actually help solve the problem and not just provide a safe space for letting off steam.

In attendance will be Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, Dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, Christopher F. Edley, Jr., President of the UC, Mark Yudof and Berkeley Economics teacher and recently-named chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Christina Romer. It’s gonna take a lot more than a metaphorical Band-Aid in the form of a symposium to heal this financial wound, but hey, it’s a start.

WHAT: Panel of UC and UCB professors and leaders to discuss the future of higher education and it’s current economic uh-oh’s, forum-style.

WHEN: Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

WHERE: Pauley Ballroom

WHO: People who know stuff. (See above.)

Image Source: Rosemobile under Creative Commons
All-Star Panel of University Leaders to Discuss Future of Public Higher Education [UC Newsroom]

Ideas are flying left and right for how to get our UC system out of its current financial rut. Our chancellor has a couple of his own up his sleeve: raise and lower student fees according to the financial need of each respective campus.

The University of California Board of Regents traditionally imposes equal tuition for undergrads across all nine UC campuses (currently $6,571 per year). If Chancellor Birgeneau’s idea were to be set into motion, each campus would be allowed to raise or lower said asking price by 25 percent.

He writes in his proposal (titled “Access and Excellence”) several upshots to his propositions. Among these: provide incentive for students to attend UC campuses aren’t exactly first in preference for students (as these campuses would lower their student tuition) and provide sufficient funding for the schools to which students flock like madmen (i.e., UC Berkeley. Represent!). Additionally, Chancellor Birgeneau predicts that any gap between top tier UC campuses and leading private schools will be made smaller once our campuses are better funded.

Well, duh.

His idea might look nice on paper–too bad such an idea reeks of elitism. To what end is our world approaching when the chancellor of a highly ranked public university proposes an idea to commercialize and capitalize on its public services to students able enough to afford such a “commodity”? Three cheers for furthering an education gap in our state.

California students want a university that is competitive in their resources, not their resourcing. It’s time for the state to start doin’ what it does best (no, not eliminating same-sex marriages): putting California tax dollars to work.

Image Source: April Isabel Angeles
Chancellor suggests UC campuses set own tuition [SFGate]