Patt Morrison for November 17, 2009
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Saving the UC system: How to get Regents, students & faculty on the same page
Everyone involved with the University of California system will agree on one basic fact: Nearly $1 billion in budget cuts have devastated the system and seriously jeopardized UC’s standing as the premiere public higher education system in the world. That’s where the agreement seems to end, as students and faculty believes the Regents and UC execs have poorly managed funds and are raising fees to keep the system’s profit margins high. With a 32% student fee hike on the table, is it possible for all sides in the UC system to agree on the best course of action?
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Is higher education in California losing its golden gleam?
It’s been a tough few years for most of California’s public institutions, but the higher education system of UC, Cal State and community colleges have been particularly hard hit. A new report from the Legislative Analyst Office says that soaring fees, volatile college budgets and enrollment caps are so far removed from California’s “Master Plan for Higher Education” that the state’s constitutional education goals have become irrelevant, or at least impossible to meet. How did our public schools, the prides of California, fall so far?
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Hard choices, lots of enemies & few friends: Life of the UC President
He’s started an effort to raise $1 billion for financial aid and he’s attracted high profile and highly lucrative researchers and foundations into the University of California fold; and he’s also cut $800+ million from the UC budget, furloughed and laid off countless workers and turned away thousands of previously eligible students. UC President Mark Yudof has the unenviable job of keeping the UC system afloat and making lots of tough decisions in the process. What’s his master plan for the future of UC?
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To Mammogram or not to mammogram? That becomes the question
A federal task force responsible for setting national prevention policy is recommending that women in their 40's stop getting routine mammograms and women in their 50's cut back to every other year. The announcement marks a radical departure from traditional cancer screening methods used by most medical professionals. The task force concluded that the harms outweigh the benefits and suggest that only women in high risk groups get mammograms routinely. The recommendation has ignited a debate in women's health care over what the appropriate course of action should be in screening for a disease that kills more than 40,000 women each year.
