One way or another

From Inside Higher Ed: As the University of California marks its 150th anniversary this year, it faces constraints on key revenue sources even as the state’s population is expected to keep growing. So leaders of the 10-campus, 273,000-student system may be approaching a crossroads.

System leaders might choose to grow enrollment without enough funding, a decision that could lead to slipping quality. Or they might decide to limit enrollment growth in order to keep up quality and productivity measures.

Those two extremes are outlined in a new report out Monday from authors at the UC Berkeley Center for Studies in Higher Education, a higher education think tank approaching issues from a scholarly perspective. They aren’t the only paths leaders will be able to choose -- the report also outlines a number of different ideas, many of which public universities have tried in other states.

Those ideas include politically dicey prospects like expanding online degree programs and revamping UC governance to include campus governing boards to handle some local decision making. Yet without some major changes in trajectory, it is hard to envision a future where the UC system is able to grow its enrollment capacity in lockstep with expected growth in California’s population and increased need for educated workers in the state, authors write.

“Individual campuses, such as Berkeley and UCLA, may be able to generate other income sources to maintain their quality and reputation,” the report says. “But there is no clear funding model or pathway for the system to grow with the needs of the people of California.”...

Full article at:
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/08/21/report-asks-whether-university-california-funding-nearing-tipping-point

Underlying report at:
https://cshe.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/publications/douglassbleemer.tipping_point_report.august_20_2018_0.pdf