AI Ban at Berkeley Law

From Law.com: University of California Berkeley School of Law has implemented a strict new AI policy, joining a growing number of law schools that have adopted similar policies to ban the use of AI on assignments, as universities work to balance teaching the use of AI tools while also mitigating AI-assisted cheating. The policy, which goes into effect this summer, is sweeping and bans the use of AI for anything from brainstorming, organizing and grammar checking, to translating a paper written in a different language. Further, the policy states that AI can be used for research on papers “for the limited purpose of identifying sources, such as cases, statutes or secondary sources,” which is the only allowable use...

“We want to prevent its use in writing exams and papers ... (because) we want to be grading the students’ work,” Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley Law, told Law.com. “The policy adopted by the faculty seeks to make clear to students what is not allowed.” ...

Full story at https://www.law.com/therecorder/2026/05/26/berkeley-law-implements-ai-ban-/.

Straws in the Wind - Part 361

From Inside Higher Ed: Faculty members at the University of Texas at Austin say new systemwide personnel policy changes could pave the way for politically motivated program closures and further disenfranchise faculty from decision-making related to their own departments. And, according to the Board of Regents’ recent meeting agenda, more policy changes are on the way. The revised rule 31003, approved unanimously last week by voice vote, establishes new grounds to close academic departments. In addition to academic reasons—such as low enrollment or poor program quality—and financial exigency, presidents can now shutter programs due to “extraordinary circumstances” that necessitate “accelerated program closure due to regulatory requirements” and bypass typical review procedures.

The revisions are an effort by the board to “improve efficiency and usability” of the rules, which the board revisits periodically. They were developed “in collaboration with stakeholders throughout the U.T. System,” the agenda states. But faculty members were not made aware of the changes, said Brian Evans, an engineering professor at UT Austin and president of the Texas American Association of University Professors–American Federation of Teachers. Most faculty learned about the proposed revisions when the board posted the agenda 72 hours before the board meeting, which is the minimum notice period required by Texas law, Evans explained...

The revision to rule 31003 also allows the president to eliminate individual faculty positions for “bona fide academic reasons,” which include, but are not limited to, “poor program quality or effectiveness, misalignment with the institution’s mission, failure to meet student or societal needs, low enrollment and demand, and redundancy with other existing more effective programs,” according to the rule. Previously, faculty eliminated for academic reasons had 30 days to appeal the decision. Now, they have 15 days...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty/shared-governance/2026/05/27/u-texas-makes-it-easier-fire-faculty-close-programs.

You didn't miss it because you weren't invited

 

Yesterday, the Regents had yet another closed-door meeting on the conflict with the feds.* Was there some new development to be discussed? We won't ever know.

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*https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/jun26/meeting-notice_federal-june-2-2026.pdf.

What needs to happen on the SAT: Pay attention Academic Council chair!

As blog readers will know, a large group of STEM faculty released a statement in effect saying that undergraduate admissions to UC should reinstate the SAT as one of the criteria.* When we initially reported, the number of signatories to that statement was 600. That's a lot. But now, the number is 1100. That's more than a lot. From the Daily Cal:

More than 1,100 STEM faculty across the UC system have signed a petition calling for the reinstatement of standardized testing scores by 2027 in the admission process for STEM majors, citing student underpreparedness and a lack of faculty oversight. UC Berkeley faculty were among the first to sign the petition.

The petition includes signatures from Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna and Fields medalist Richard Borcherds, both UC Berkeley faculty, and is accompanied by an open letter that describes “severe” gaps in preparation, more time spent on prerequisite material, needing to reteach middle school mathematics concepts and risk of degree incompletion...

Full story at https://www.dailycal.org/news/uc/uc-berkeley-faculty-first-to-sign-1-000-strong-systemwide-petition-for-reinstatement-of-standardized/article_d8fd756e-b14d-4cdd-8280-3ff0e530af6e.html.

In response, as blog readers will know, the chair of the Academic Council - the systemwide Academic Senate - issued a non-statement saying that BOARS considers admissions. Duh! The chair needs to get off his tuchus (Google it!), set up some kind of working group to consider the issue over the summer, with at least a preliminary discussion to be held at the UC Regents meeting in September.

Note that there are complicated issues raised. The signatories seem to want the SAT just for STEM majors. But how a two-tier admissions system would work or even could work is unclear. Many students change their minds about their majors, or don't know what they want to major in, when they start college. Most likely, a two-tier system would not be workable. All the more reason for a study and discussion to occur.

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*Our past posts on this issue:

https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2026/05/surprise-you-have-to-know-math-to-do_01518665009.html; https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2026/05/surprise-you-have-to-know-math-to-do.html.

Squeeze 'em harder, says LAO

Summary section from a recent LAO report:

[This] Brief Analyzes Nonresident Supplemental Tuition Rates at the University of California (UC). 

In addition to the tuition charges other undergraduates pay at UC, nonresident students pay nonresident supplemental tuition (NRST). UC charges the same NRST rate across all nine of its general campuses. In response to legislative interest, we analyzed whether opportunities exist to raise additional NRST revenue. In particular, we focused on opportunities for raising NRST revenue at UC’s three highest‑demand campuses—UC Berkeley, UC Los Angeles (UCLA), and UC San Diego (UCSD).

Several Findings Indicate Higher NRST Rates Could Be Warranted. 

As a university system, UC is unusual in charging the same NRST rate across all its campuses. Other major public university systems charge more at their flagship campus. For example, in 2025‑26, nonresident rates at the flagship University of Michigan, Ann Arbor campus are more than 4.5 times higher than at the Flint campus. Demand from nonresident students also is notably stronger at UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UCSD than at the other UC campuses. These three campuses receive more nonresident applications than the remaining six UC campuses combined, have the lowest admission rates, and enroll the highest shares of nonresident undergraduates. In addition, our UC‑specific research, together with national research on selective universities, indicates that aggregate nonresident enrollment does not decline as NRST rates increase. One reason this might be the case is that families could view a higher sticker price as an indicator of higher quality. Another reason could be that demand for selective universities is so strong and admission rates so low that many families are willing to pay higher NRST rates to secure a coveted enrollment spot.

Recommend Piloting Higher NRST Rates at Highest‑Demand Campuses.

If the Legislature wanted to pursue higher NRST rates, we recommend a four‑year pilot involving UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UCSD. We recommend beginning the pilot in 2027‑28, as UC already has published its NRST rates for 2026‑27. If UC were to raise the NRST rate for 2027‑28 by $6,000 at UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UCSD, compared to an increase of $2,000 at the other UC campuses, we estimate an additional $20 million in NRST revenue would be generated (ramping up to $80 million in year four). This additional revenue could be used to supplement core funds at UC or offset state General Fund in response to a state budget deficit or competing state budget priorities. While the pilot is in place, we recommend UC collect and report data on the impacts of the higher NRST rates at the three selected campuses, including impacts on the composition of the undergraduate nonresident student body.

Full brief at https://lao.ca.gov/reports/2026/5183/2026-27_Budget_Nonresident_Tuition_Rates_at_UC_051226.pdf.

Straws in the Wind - Part 360

From Yale Daily News: First-year and transfer applicants to Yale College will be required to submit either their SAT or ACT scores beginning this fall. The change, which Yale announced in a Wednesday evening press release after updating its webpage on standardized testing, reinstates a pre-pandemic mandate after six admissions cycles in which SAT and ACT score submissions were not required. Yale axed the requirement for undergraduate applicants to submit standardized test scores in 2020, then required the submission of either SAT, ACT, International Baccalaureate or Advanced Placement scores under a test-flexible policy beginning in 2024.

“Academic excellence is the foundation of the Yale College experience, and, likewise, is the core component of our admissions process,” Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis said in the press release. “SAT and ACT scores are strong predictors of a student’s future Yale academic performance, and, when considered thoughtfully as part of a whole person review, they can help identify well-prepared candidates, especially those from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.”

The return to a test-mandatory policy follows a recommendation from the Presidential Council on Yale College Admissions, a nine-member group formed by University President Maurie McInnis in fall 2025 whose membership includes Lewis, other Yale administrators and former New York governor George Pataki ’67. The council’s work follows previous efforts by Yale College to review its admissions processes, including after the Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that affirmative action is unlawful. The group also “considered recent executive orders and guidelines from federal agencies” in its work, according to a Yale webpage...

Full story at https://yaledailynews.com/articles/yale-reinstates-sat-act-requirement-after-six-years-of-flexible-policy.

New Dean Today

From the Daily Bruin: A distinguished professor in urban planning will become the permanent dean of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs on June 1. Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, who has worked at UCLA for 35 years and served as the interim dean since January 2023, said her appointment represents a continuation of initiatives she began as interim dean – including new academic programs and expanded student support... 

During her time as interim dean, the school launched a Master of Real Estate Development program and approved a Master of Global Public Affairs degree, which Loukaitou-Sideris said is expected to begin in two years. The school also introduced a certificate program in artificial intelligence for public affairs with UCLA Extension, which is the university’s continuing education institution...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2026/05/24/interim-dean-of-luskin-school-of-public-affairs-soon-to-be-permanently-instated.