AI Admissions

The San Francisco Chronicle has an article on the growth of an AI admissions industry: [excerpt]

...Reach Best went live in June and charges customers $25 to $200, depending on how many essay reviews and AI queries they want. Yet most of the 10,000 users ... use the site’s free try-out section, he said. Free competitor Kollegio went live [last] Thursday.

Students entering college this fall are the first to complete a full application cycle since generative AI tools like ChatGPT emerged in late 2022, and signs indicate they are already jumping on the technology. For the first time, the University of California’s “statement of application integrity” contains a surprising message for all 250,000 applicants: When answering application questions, using generative AI for advice on content, editing and readability is fine. “But content and final written text must be their own,” UC warns for the first time, noting that it screens responses and may ask applicants to prove they created the content themselves. If it detects cheating, UC “will take action.”

About a third of 523 teens surveyed nationwide said they used AI to help them with the personal essays in their college application, according to foundry10, an education research group in Seattle that asked 16- to 18-year-old applicants about their AI habits in February and March.

Of the 153 students who used AI, half said it helped with brainstorming essay topics, checking grammar and creating an outline. About a third used AI to “enhance essay content phrasing.” More troubling is that 49 of the respondents, or 32%, used the tool to generate a first draft of their essays. And 31 of them, 20%, used it to write their final essay.

...UC... is requiring applicants to click on its application integrity statement, generating a signature that affirms, for the first time, that they won’t use AI to cheat. It remains unclear, however, if that is enough. Meanwhile, companies like Reach Best and Kollegio are rising in popularity...

Full story at https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/ai-software-college-applications-19597583.php.

A new meaning for passing the buck

The Regents imposed a tax on UCLA for moving to the Big Ten to subsidize Berkeley which ended up moving to the ACC. The ACC imposed a de facto tax on Berkeley for the privilege. So, in effect, the bucks from UCLA pass through Berkeley to the other teams in the ACC.

From the Mercury News:

Cal and Stanford officially join[ed] the ACC [last] Friday, marking a new era with fascinating competitive opportunities and one all-too-familiar problem. A supermassive red hole threatens to swallow each school’s athletic budget. Or as Cal vice chancellor for external communications Dan Mogulof told the Hotline via email: Life in the ACC carries “a revenue challenge.”

Officially, the Bears and Cardinal will be full-share members for 12 years. But according to Cal’s approval letter, which was obtained by the Hotline through a public records request, the Bears must “contribute” money back to the conference for nine years. That contribution is more than a few million dollars here and there; it’s tens of millions, year after year...

Yes, Cal has $10 million coming each of the next three years courtesy of a contribution from UCLA (as directed by the UC regents). But that controversial subsidy, which will be reassessed in 2027-28, doesn’t come close to covering Cal’s revenue deficit during that span. The Bears also are examining “the role philanthropy can and should play” in funding athletics, according to the school...

Full story at https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/08/01/cal-and-stanford-prepare-for-life-in-the-acc-with-a-nine-figure-hole-in-their-budgets-no-firm-plans-to-solve-the-revenue-challenge/.

Clery

The Clery Act is a complicated federal law requiring higher ed institutions including UC to report campus crimes. From time to time, for example, the UCLA police department sends out Clery notices when crimes occur in and around campus.

California's State Auditor recently selected six higher ed institutions - public and private - and audited their compliance with Clery. UC was represented by UC-Santa Cruz. As the image above we have reproduced from the report shows, there was substantial underreporting of crime activity.

The report notes that in UC's case, the Regents have yet to adopt required state standards for reporting, apart from the Clery requirements:

...State law requires certain institutions in California to implement campus safety policies and protocols in addition to the federal requirements. State la
w identifies those institutions it requires to comply with each separate provision. ...Although many of these provisions appear to require the University of California (UC) to comply with the requirements, a separate provision in state law exempts UC’s institutions from these requirements unless the Board of Regents of the University of California (Regents) adopts a resolution making each requirement applicable to its institutions. According to UC’s legal counsel, the Regents have not yet adopted such a resolution...

UC-Santa Cruz responded to the Auditor's report saying it would implement the various recommendations:

...The University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) would like to thank the audit team and the Auditor of the State of California for their work and engagement throughout the process of conducting this audit. We are always working to improve safety in our community and appreciate the opportunity to review our policies and processes and implement positive change. UCSC takes compliance responsibilities seriously and agrees with each of the recommendations outlined in the draft audit report...

You can find the report including the Santa Cruz response at:

https://www.auditor.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/2024-032-Report.pdf.

What will the fall rules be?

We noted that a court has ordered UCLA to come up with a plan for protecting Jewish students in an earlier post.* And, as we also previously noted, UCLA is under a Title VI investigation and it is likely it will be told to do something whenever that process concludes.** UCLA's initial response to the court case was to try and have that case dismissed on grounds that it already had a plan of quickly removing encampments.*** 

Meanwhile, a draft of rules for the fall by Harvard was leaked to the student newspaper there and suggests what UCLA's plan may be.**** We can assume that the major universities are all looking at each other and their policies. Basically, the draft Harvard rules forbid a range of tactics used by protesters. UCLA - as a public institution - is more constrained than private Harvard in regulating what happens on campus, particularly in public spaces, so its rules are likely to be somewhat different.

====

*https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2024/07/it-came-but-from-different-source.html

**https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2024/07/coming-soon-to-ucla-presumably.html

***See the section beginning on page 4: "Post-Encampment Efforts to Strengthen Capacity to Respond to Protests" at:

https://ia600402.us.archive.org/9/items/2-final-hjaa-report.-the-soil-beneath-the-encampments/UCLA-response%20to%20antisemitism%20suit%207-8-2024.pdf 

****https://ia600402.us.archive.org/9/items/2-final-hjaa-report.-the-soil-beneath-the-encampments/Harvard%20-%20Draft%20of%20rules%20for%20fall%202024%20dated%207-11-2024.pdf

The Regents' Health Services Committee Meets at UCLA on Aug. 14, 2024

The Regents' Health Services Committee will be back at UCLA in mid-August for an off-cycle meeting. Below is the preliminary agenda.

Agenda Wednesday, August 14, 2024

Locations: Luskin Conference Center, UCLA

10:00 am Health Services Committee - (open session- includes public comment) 

Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of June 12, 2024

Public Comment Period (30 minutes)

H1 Action: Proposed Request for Approval of La Jolla Medical Center Tower 2 and La Jolla Outpatient Pavilion, San Diego Campus

H2 Discussion: Review of the UC Health Strategic Framework and Fiscal Year 2024-25 Budget for UC Health Division, Office of the President

H3 Discussion: Evolving Landscape of Clinical Training: Focus on Medical Students

H4 Discussion: Spotlight on Integrative Health Across UC Health 

--

Closed session upon end of open session:

Action: Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of June 12, 2024

H5(X) Discussion: UC Health Litigation Update

==

Committee membership: 

Regents Batchlor, Chu, Makarechian, Park, Pérez (Chair), Sherman, and Sures (Vice Chair); Ex officio members Drake, Reilly, and Newsom; Executive Vice President Rubin; Chancellors Hawgood, Khosla, and Wilcox; Advisory members Marks and Ong

==

Source: https://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/meetings/agendas/august2024.html.

The FAFSA Drama Continues - Part 15

From Higher Ed Dive: The Education Department released an updated version of the FAFSA in late December, almost three months later than usual. Following publication, the form’s rollout has faced heavy criticism over ongoing delays and limited functionality. Despite the rapidly approaching start to the fall semester, Tuesday’s announcement shows some FAFSA processing issues will continue to go unresolved.

Batch corrections are usually available when the FAFSA form is released and allow financial aid employees to avoid manually submitting individual corrections. Beth Maglione, interim president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, called the news “beyond frustrating.”

“The Department’s poor planning has led to a stunning failure: Some college students might not have financial aid dollars in their hands in time to start classes in the next few weeks,” Maglione said in a Tuesday statement.

The Education Department acknowledged Tuesday that the news will create challenges for colleges and higher education organizations... 

Full story at https://www.highereddive.com/news/education-department-reverses-course-on-batch-fafsa-corrections/722965/.

The Transition Has Begun

Posted 8-1-2024
https://x.com/UCLAchancellor/status/1819040954701291826

Interim Chancellor Hunt shared this message to the Bruin Community

Dear Bruin Community:

Today, I have the honor of beginning my service as UCLA’s interim chancellor, charged with stewarding the university as we prepare for the arrival of our next chancellor, Julio Frenk, in January of 2025.

I take up this position with great humility, with recognition of the significant responsibility entrusted to me, and with gratitude for the opportunity to continue giving back to an institution that has shaped my own life as well as the lives of countless others. I have seen this campus from a number of vantage points — that of a student, alum, faculty member, dean, and most recently executive vice chancellor and provost — and these varied experiences have shown me that UCLA, while not without flaws, is one of the most extraordinary educational institutions ever created.

I believe deeply in the power and promise of this place.

After a spring that challenged our community significantly, one of my central priorities as interim chancellor will be helping Bruins rebuild connections to one another; promoting engagement across lines of difference; and strengthening our internal policies and practices as they relate to safety, belonging and free expression.

This summer, many UCLA faculty, staff and students are engaged in planning across these areas. Their work is guided by several non-negotiable commitments: UCLA must maintain a safe campus environment that allows our students, faculty and staff to focus on learning, working, living and growing. We must ensure that all Bruins can participate fully in our community — regardless of race, class, religion, gender, political belief or other aspects of their identity. We must fairly and responsibly protect the rights of everyone on our campus. We must foster an environment where we recognize one another’s humanity and endeavor to understand one another’s perspectives when we are divided in terms of ideology or background.

I am certain that the UCLA community, which has overcome many challenges in the past, can rise to these urgent needs. I look forward to sharing more about the work now underway towards the start of the academic year.

At its best, UCLA is a place where people make and remake themselves; where we give birth to ideas and nurture dreams; where we create opportunities and expand horizons; and where we work tirelessly to benefit our region, nation and world. During my tenure as interim chancellor, I also intend to champion this vision of UCLA, advancing the important work we do in the realms of education, research and public service, and helping us deepen our impact in line with Creating the Future: UCLA’s 2023–28 Strategic Plan.*

As I take up this role, I want to offer a final message of thanks to outgoing Chancellor Gene Block for his 17 years of distinguished leadership. It has been an honor serving with him.

UCLA continues to represent the best of public higher education, changing the lives of thousands of students each year and contributing immensely to the common good here in Los Angeles and throughout the world.

As interim chancellor, I commit to upholding this legacy and serving this remarkable institution to the best of my abilities. I look forward to working with — and for — the UCLA community in the months ahead.

Sincerely,

Darnell Hunt, Interim Chancellor

Source: https://chancellor.ucla.edu/messages/reflections-at-the-start-of-my-tenure-as-interim-chancellor/.

===

*https://strategic-plan.ucla.edu/.