Watch the Regents Meeting of July 15, 2026

The second day of the Regents meetings of July 14-15 began with public comments. Public comments dealt with the SAT issue, the Hawaiian telescope, funding for professional students, public transportation, a "boarding" crisis in ERs, UC hiring of undocumented students, a project labor agreement for UC, and remote work at UC. There was a brief demonstration thereafter but a warning seemed to bring it to a halt without a full halt of the meeting. (It was unclear who was demonstrating.) 

There were then presentations by representatives of student government, grad and undergrad. There is a certain kabuki element in these presentations. Students denounce the Regents and/or their policies, and then they are thanked for their service. It's a bit like the budget kabuki in which the governor is always thanked for whatever allocation he proposes, and then UC lobbies for more. (Maybe yours truly has grown a bit jaundiced about these traditions!) 

Various student awards were presented including one to a UCLA student who has assisted in advocacy in the face of federal grant cuts.

A report on retention and graduation rates was presented. Among UC's goal is a 90% 6-year graduation rate. The current rate is 86%. One Regent indicated that there was a conflict between the advocacy for returning to the SAT and the fact that graduation rates were generally rising. Another Regents asked, however, whether it is getting easier to graduate.

At Academic and Student Affairs, there was a review of high school A-G courses needed to qualify for admission to UC.  A = History and Social Science, B = English, C = Math, D = Science, E = Language, F = Visual and Performing Arts, G = College Prep Electives. These standards go back the late 19th century and have evolved over time. Most high schools offer A-G. Those that don't can take advantage of online versions. There is a teacher shortage problem with regard to some topics. Also, there are dual enrollment options with community colleges. A concern now is incorporating AI into the curriculum.

As the agenda suggested, there was not a discussion of the SAT, although a student observer opposed going back to the SAT requirement.

The Committee also heard discussion of international education including study abroad programs and exchange students from abroad who come to UC. 

Finally, there was discussion of the return on investment in a UC degree. It was acknowledged that graduating students are facing a low-turnover labor market and that AI is being used to screen job applicants.

At Finance and Capital Strategies, Regent Makarechian - who is often critical of UC construction cost estimates - praised a UC-Irvine project for its low cost and high quality. The state budget allocation for UC was praised despite the "deferral" of certain compact payments. (See the kabuki comments above.) It was noted the although UC has been successful in getting existing grants restored, federal approval of renewals and new grants is sluggish. 

The Regents endorsed the housing bond on the November ballot which contains funding for student housing. National Lab fee income was budgeted. New Regents were excluded from access to classified information. And committee reports were approved.

As always, we preserve recordings of Regents meetings since the Regents have no policy on retention duration. You can see the July 15th meeting at the link below:

https://archive.org/details/regents-7-15-2026.