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Articles by Michael Burke
UPDATE: CSU Academic Senate urges Newsom to appoint new faculty trustee
The body representing faculty across California State University is asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to seat one of its preferred candidates on the board of trustees following what it described as a months-long delay. Under state law, the governor appoints a single faculty trustee, choosing from at least two candidates selected by Cal State’s 53-member Academic Senate.
UPDATE: CSU board of trustees to weigh new executive compensation plan
The California State University board of trustees on Wednesday will discuss a new executive compensation policy removing a limit on how much more it can pay new presidents, sparking pushback from unions representing much of the system’s workforce. The proposed policy would lift a cap preventing new presidents from earning more than 10% than their predecessors.
UC President Michael Drake to step down at end of upcoming academic year
University of California President Michael V. Drake will step down at the end of the upcoming academic year, closing out a five-year tenure in which he navigated the 10-campus system through the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment growth, labor strife and campus protests. Drake, 74, announced his plan in a letter Wednesday to the UC community. "I am immensely proud of what our students, faculty, and staff have accomplished these past several years.
Changes threaten student housing
Community college leaders across California are asking lawmakers to reconsider changes made in this year’s state budget to how student housing projects are funded, saying the amendments jeopardize their ability to build new affordable housing. As part of the 2023-24 budget agreement, the state is requiring community colleges to use local revenue bonds to pay for construction costs for new affordable housing projects under a student housing grant program originally unveiled in 2021.
Student leaders, Lt Gov urge Cal State to put off voting on tuition increase
California State University should delay voting on a proposed tuition increase and potentially reconsider the idea, California Lt. Gov Eleni Kounalakis and student leaders urged Friday. Kounalakis, who sits on CSU’s board of trustees, met privately with students at Cal State Los Angeles, where they strategized over how to move forward as CSU trustees appear ready to approve annual tuition increases of 6% at their next meeting in September.
EdSource: Excerpts from probe into Title IX at Sonoma State
A long-awaited report describing a broken system across Cal State's 23 campuses of handling complaints of sexual harassment and discrimination includes detailed reports on each campus with recommendations for reforms. The following is an excerpt with a link at the end to the full campus report. From our media colleagues at EdSource.
As tensions mount over final grades, academic researchers and scholars reach tentative agreement with UC
By Michael Burke and Ashley A. Smith, EdSource As students’ stress mounts during finals week over whether they will receive grades, University of California academic researchers and postdoctoral scholars reach a tentative labor agreement with the administration. The agreement includes wage increases that reflect the cost of living along with improvements for family leave, child care, transportation and job security.
How California is responding to a dire student housing shortage
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Timothy Vidales was desperate for housing, so he applied to a Craigslist ad for a room in a warehouse in Santa Cruz. The room had neither amenities nor furniture, but it was listed for $800 per month by a landlord who suggested that the occupant bring a tent. Vidales, an environmental science major at the University of California Santa Cruz, had already unsuccessfully applied to about 50 off-campus rooms as he looked for somewhere to live during the 2021-22 academic year.
By Michael Burke Verified, Michael Burke, Ashley Smith, Betty Marquez Rosales Verified, Ashleigh Panoo
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Napa Valley Register
Verified
Dire California student housing shortage in search of solutions
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Timothy Vidales was desperate for housing, so he applied to a Craigslist ad for a room in a warehouse in Santa Cruz. The room had neither amenities nor furniture, but it was listed for $800 per month by a landlord who suggested that the occupant bring a tent. Vidales, an environmental science major at the University of California Santa Cruz, had already unsuccessfully applied to about 50 off-campus rooms as he looked for somewhere to live during the 2021-22 academic year.
By Michael Burke Verified, Michael Burke, Ashley A. Smith, Betty Marquez Rosales Verified, Ashleigh Panoo
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Visalia Times-Delta
Verified
UC proposes changes to how major athletics decisions are made
Prompted by UCLA’s move to the Big Ten conference, the University of California’s central president’s office is proposing a new policy that would limit the ability of individual campuses to make major decisions regarding their athletics program. The policy was presented during a meeting Wednesday of UC’s Board of Regents, though the board did not vote on it.
UC accepts record number of in-state students, but only at some campuses
Keeping with a pledge to prioritize enrollment of California residents, the University of California admitted a record number of in-state freshman applicants and fewer out-of-state and international students for fall 2022, according to data released last week. Those trends, however, varied across the system’s nine campuses, with several campuses admitting fewer California residents than a year ago.
UC tracking drop in students returning after Covid start, especially for low-income and first-generation students
Fewer first-year and transfer students returned to the University of California this past fall after enrolling the previous year, a trend that system President Michael Drake said he is watching “very carefully” but predicted will rebound. Across the university’s nine undergraduate campuses, 92% of undergraduates who enrolled as freshmen in fall 2020 returned to their UC campus in fall 2021, down from 93% the previous year. The percentages measure what are called retention rates.
$100 million on CA budget for cybersecurity concerns in community colleges
By Michael Burke EdSource In an effort to stymie online theft of financial aid at California’s 116 community colleges, the campuses may soon receive about $100 million in total to beef up their cybersecurity. The $100 million funding plan was brought Tuesday to lawmakers as an information item during a hearing of the Assembly’s budget subcommittee on education finance. The spending, initially proposed in January by Gov.
Dorms eyed for community colleges to ease California housing crunch Original
At Sierra College just north of Sacramento, every semester brings at least one guarantee: a very long wait list for housing in the college’s residence hall. One of just a few community colleges in California offering on-campus housing, Sierra College’s dorm-style residence hall has about 120 beds. With more than 16,000 students enrolled at the college and about 25% of them housing insecure, demand for those beds regularly outpaces supply.
UC receives more freshman applicants, but fewer transfer students apply
The University of California received a record number of applications for fall 2022 admission, thanks to a jump in applications from incoming freshmen, the university system announced Thursday. However, the system also saw a decline in the number of students seeking to transfer from a California community college to one of UC’s nine undergraduate campuses. Freshman applications increased by about 0.5% or 7,140 students. That included a 3.3% increase among California freshman applications.
UC Berkeley says it could admit thousands fewer freshmen under court order
The University of California Berkeley could be forced to admit 3,050 fewer incoming freshmen in fall 2022 than previously anticipated under a court ruling, the university said Monday. The California Court of Appeals issued a ruling that requires Berkeley to follow a lower court order requiring the campus to freeze enrollment at 42,437 students, the same number of students that enrolled in 2020-21. UC’s board of regents is appealing the ruling to the California Supreme Court.
Newsom’s offer of years of funding increases to California universities faces criticism Original
The centerpiece to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s higher education budget proposal is coming under scrutiny ahead of negotiations with lawmakers this spring. In his January budget proposal, the first step in the state’s annual budget process, Newsom revealed a new blueprint for funding California’s two public university systems over the next five years.
UC campuses may consider remote instruction at start of upcoming term
University of California campuses have the option to shift to remote instruction at the start of the upcoming term in January, systemwide president Michael Drake said in a message to campus chancellors Tuesday.
With Standardized Testing Out, UC Explores Next Steps in Making Admissions More Equitable
Dec 9 Failed to save article Please try again Students walk near Sather Tower on the University of California at Berkeley campus Feb. 24, 2005, in Berkeley. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) The University of California’s historic move to abandon standardized exams may not be the last of changes coming to the admissions process for the public university system.
UC will stick with test-free admissions Original
By Michael Burke | EdSource For the foreseeable future, standardized testing will not be a part of freshman admissions for the University of California. That became clear Thursday during a meeting of the university’s Board of Regents, as top administrators essentially shut the door on the possibility of the university finding a new standardized test to replace the SAT and ACT, which are no longer part of the admissions process.
Community college enrollment drops below 2M students, more than previously reported
Enrollment at California’s community colleges dipped below 2 million students for the first time in at least three decades, the result of a pandemic that has upended education across the country. The drop across the 116-college system, at nearly 15 percent, is higher than what was reported by the system earlier this year for the fall 2020 semester.
Leave a Legacy as a Leader —
Leaders come and go; the organization continues on. As you leave, ask yourself one question: Did I leave them better than I found them? It’s harsh, but it is reality. Can you say you help create irreversible momentum that will continue to take ‘them’ forward? To do this, there needs to be a plan and it needs to be tied to the grassroots concept. It needs to be simple and efficient without trying to recreate the wheel.
How California’s state universities are tracking campus COVID cases
By Ashley A. Smith and Michael Burke, EdSource All across the state, the University of California and California State University campuses have created Covid-19 data dashboards that include details about case rates among students, staff and faculty. However, dashboard details vary from campus to campus. In some cases, the dashboards include data on vaccination rates and the number of students who are in isolation and quarantine.
More mandates coming to California colleges following full approval of Pfizer COVID vaccine
By Michael Burke and Diane Lambert, EdSource Full approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine Monday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will likely trigger more vaccine mandates, especially at California community colleges this fall. California’s public university systems, the University of California and California State University, already chose to require students and staff to be vaccinated this fall without waiting for FDA approval of one of the existing vaccines. .
Spotlight on California’s community colleges as chancellor starts unpaid federal adviser role
Eloy Ortiz Oakley, the chancellor of California’s 116 community colleges, this week began an unpaid adviser position in the Biden administration during a four-month paid sabbatical from the community college system. Oakley will spend his time away from the system on a temporary assignment as a higher education adviser to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. Oakley is expected to return to his position as chancellor around late November.
Budget deal invests in financial aid, enrollment growth at California’s colleges and universities
Breaking News Santa Cruz County health officials alerted of first ‘Delta’ COVID variant case Monday June 28, 2021 at 2:46 pm By Michael Burke and Ashley A. Smith, EdSource Under the budget approved Monday by California lawmakers, the state’s public colleges and universities are slated to receive a range of new investments that will allow them to grow enrollment, expand financial aid and support their students’ basic needs. The budget, which now heads to Gov.
California community college enrollment plummets amid pandemic
By Michael Burke and Daniel J. Willis Across the state, from San Diego to the northern border, enrollments at many community colleges have plummeted during the pandemic, threatening the future of some campuses, the system’s Board of Governors has learned. Systemwide, more than 260,000 fewer students enrolled in fall 2020 compared with fall 2019, a 16.8% drop.
California universities plan in-person, virtual commencement ceremonies Original
By Michael Burke and Ashley A. Smith | EdSource Commencement ceremonies at many of California’s colleges and universities will look a bit closer to normal this year, though with a few twists. In-person commencement ceremonies across the state were canceled last year because of Covid-19’s spread, and they were instead held virtually.
California’s community colleges at crossroads as more students opt not to attend Original
By Michael Burke and Daniel J. Willis, EdSource California’s community colleges face a difficult path forward. Across the state, from San Diego to counties on the northern border, enrollments at many community colleges have plummeted during the coronavirus pandemic.
Viability Of Some California Community Colleges Threatened By Steep Drop In Enrollment
By Michael Burke and Louis Freedberg Ed Source In a dramatic illustration of the impact of the pandemic on many students’ college plans, enrollments at California’s community colleges are down an average of 11 percent to 12 percent systemwide, far higher than the preliminary estimates of 5 percent to 7 percent after schools opened last fall.
Peralta District Rife With Infighting, Accreditation At Risk for Berkeley College
An Oakland-based community college district may soon be forced to cede power to the state if its Board of Trustees can’t quell concerns about its ability to properly govern the district. Intervening at the Peralta Community College District, home to four East Bay colleges serving almost 30,000 students, would be a drastic step.
The path to a new China policy
Dec. 4, 2020 at 3:19 pm Updated Dec. 4, 2020 at 3:19 pm By and Special to The Times The curtain is soon to fall on the Trump administration’s disastrous China policy, a failure born of an “America First” intransigence that ignored our friends and didn’t leverage them into the broader coalition necessary to address a changing China.
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