Bill

Senate Bill 98

Author: Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Pasadena

What will it do: The bill would require school districts, California State University, each California community college district and each Cal Grant qualifying institution of higher education, as well as request the University of California, to issue a notification to all students, faculty and other campus community members when the presence of federal immigration enforcement is confirmed on campus. These notifications must include the date, time and location of enforcement on campus, as well as a link to additional resources for students and campus community members. 

Why is it important: While most schools provide guidelines to students, faculty and staff about how to engage with federal immigration enforcement officers if encountered on campus, there is no legal requirement to notify the community. With ongoing raids and continued fears of detention and deportation in immigrant communities, the bill aims to bolster a sense of security and maintain school campuses as “safe spaces” for students. 

What’s next: The bill passed the Senate in June. The Senate Education Committee and the Assembly Higher Education Committee passed it in July, and it is currently under review by the Assembly Appropriations Committee with a hearing scheduled for Aug. 20. 

Upshot: The bill is likely to pass the Assembly Appropriations Committee, as it is not expected to have major cost burdens. It is also likely to take immediate effect after Newsom signs it into law.

Source: https://edsource.org/2025/legislative-education-bills-california-teachers-immigration/738900.

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Actual bill at:

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB98.

Brace Yourself

Given the general inflation in health insurance prices, what would you imagine will happen to the cost of UC-provided insurance?

From CalMatters:

Californians who get their health insurance through the state’s marketplace will see premiums increase by an average of 10.3% next year. Covered California officials on Thursday announced the first double-digit rate increase since 2018, saying it represents a “confluence” of factors putting upward pressure on the market. 

Rising health care costs, the expiration of enhanced federal subsidies and policy-driven market uncertainty together are fueling the hike, Covered California Director Jessica Altman said. Insurers in recent years have expected health care costs to increase by about 8% each year. That makes up the bulk of next year’s increase. But Altman said about 2% of the rate increase in the state’s version of the Affordable Care Act marketplace is based on federal financial assistance that expires at the end of the year...

Nationally, the median premium increase for next year is 18%, according to the KFF analysis. Loss of subsidies accounts for 4%...

Full story at https://calmatters.org/health/2025/08/covered-california-2026-rate-increase/.

Straws in the Wind - Part 77

From WGBH: More than a third of Clark’s undergrads and two-thirds of its graduate students come from abroad. But many may not return this fall due to visa delays and growing skepticism about the U.S. as a study destination. “Whether it’s visa issues or the perception that America may not be the best place right now, we’re expecting some negative effects,” said Clark President David Fithian. "We’re prepared to deal with that financially.”

Clark is one example of how higher education institutions are rethinking their business models due to converging circumstances. Besides the drop in international enrollment, Clark is bracing for a significant drop in domestic enrollment, too. Like many small private colleges, it’s competing for a shrinking pool of traditional-aged students who are increasingly skeptical about the value of a four-year degree, and now facing slashed financial aid. All of this adds up to a major drop in revenue. The university plans to cut more than a quarter of its faculty in the coming years as it retools its academic offerings to focus on fields like climate and environment, media and computing, and health and human behavior — areas Clark leaders say are more relevant to today’s world and job market...

Full story at https://www.wgbh.org/news/education-news/2025-08-06/clark-university-braces-for-a-harsh-new-reality-as-higher-ed-recession-looms.

From WMUR: More job cuts are coming at the University of New Hampshire after a letter from the university president said 23 employees were notified Thursday that they would lose their jobs. In total, 36 positions were eliminated, including 13 unfilled roles. In addition, 10 employees will have their hours reduced.

The cuts extend beyond staffing. The university is also cutting back on professional development, student jobs and hours for campus buildings, including the dining hall. These measures are part of a university-wide plan to reduce expenses by $12 million, after state lawmakers cut funding for the university system in the latest budget.

Source: https://www.wmur.com/article/unh-eliminates-36-jobs-budget-cuts-08072025/65631686.

Donation

As blog readers will know, we like to take note of donations that don't involve brick & mortar construction. From the Bruin: 

The UCLA School of Nursing will be renamed after Joe C. Wen, following a $30 million donation... The donation was the largest-ever gift in the nursing school’s history, which will be UCLA’s first to be named after an Asian American. “For 76 years, there has never been a transformative donation,” said Lin Zhan, dean of the School of Nursing. “This is the first one.”

The donation was intended to increase the visibility of the nursing profession, alleviate structural barriers towards becoming a nurse and inspire other philanthropists to contribute to the School of Nursing, Zhan said. The donation will help support new doctoral students – particularly those in the school’s new dual nursing degree program – and fund enhancements to the School of Nursing’s skills lab and simulations, she added...

Full story at https://dailybruin.com/2025/08/15/uclas-school-of-nursing-adds-joe-c-wen-to-name-after-historic-donation.

Straws in the Wind - Part 76

From the Daily Pennsylvanian: The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School will shut down its Office of Equal Opportunity and Engagement at the end of the summer, according to a Thursday email from Dean Sophia Lee. The closure is the latest in a series of moves contributing to a widespread rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across the University. According to Lee — who wrote to the law school community on Aug. 7 — the office will close “as its ongoing work is integrated into broader, school-wide initiatives.”

...The office’s website is no longer accessible. According to an archived version of the website accessed by The Daily Pennsylvanian, the office previously offered several DEI-related services, including anti-bias programs and an Anti-Bias Support & Reporting Toolkit. Lee wrote that the resources listed in the toolkit "remain available, though the website for the toolkit has been taken down."

...A spokesperson for Penn Carey Law wrote to the DP that the school's "commitment to ensuring access and opportunity for all remains unwavering" remains, despite the office's closure...

Full story at https://www.thedp.com/article/2025/08/penn-carey-law-equal-opportunity-office.

From Inside Higher Ed: Ruling in part that professors lack First Amendment protections in the classroom, a federal judge denied an effort from college faculty and students in Alabama to block a 2024 state law that banned diversity, equity and inclusion programs as well as the teaching of so-called divisive concepts. The plaintiffs, who include students from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and professors at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, argued in court filings and at hearings that the legislation known as Senate Bill 129 amounted to state-sponsored censorship and infringed on their rights under the First and 14th Amendments. The professors alleged that they had to cancel class projects or events and faced other questions about their classroom conduct from administrators because of the law. They've also changed course material as a result.

R. David Proctor, chief judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, found that while the professors and the Alabama NAACP had standing to sue, they weren’t likely to succeed at this time. For instance, he ruled that the professors aren’t protected by the First Amendment because their “in-class instruction constitutes government speech.” ...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/08/15/judge-keeps-alabamas-anti-dei-law-place-now.

You know better than to respond, don't you?

Mysterious text messages from unfamiliar numbers that seem to need an answer should be deleted. Don't send back a "who is this?" message. Unless, of course, you want to be scammed.

The Clock is Ticking - The Senate is Moving Slowly

The systemwide Academic Senate posted the announcement below yesterday regarding faculty disciplinary procedures, a topic the Regents have been discussing over the course of several meetings going back at least since last November. The Senate is requesting comments by November 10, to be discussed subsequently by the Academic Council, and then presented to the Regents at their January 2026 meeting. But there is a potential problem in this timeline. 

We have an external process running with the federal government specifically involving UCLA but potentially affecting the entire UC system. Indeed, whatever is going on with regard to that process seems to be being handled at the systemwide level, with political input by the governor, as blog readers will know. In short, the clock is ticking, although no one can say how fast. Nonetheless, while Senate aficionados may consider the timeline described in the announcement rapid, it seems glacial to yours truly. Things - who knows what? - could happen before next January. Maybe some acceleration would be prudent. Just a thought...

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August 18, 2025

Academic Senate Division Chairs

Systemwide Senate Committee Chairs

Re: Review of Interim Systemwide Guidelines on Faculty Discipline and Revisions to APM - 015 and 016

Dear Colleagues,

We are forwarding for systemwide Senate review the Interim Systemwide Guidelines on Recommendations from the Joint Senate-Administration Workgroup on Faculty Discipline Policies and Procedures, along with accompanying proposed revisions to Academic Personnel Manual (APM) sections 015 and 016.

In an effort to make the review process efficient, the prepared packet of materials does not include the full report of the joint workgroup, as the report itself is not the focus of this review. However, the Workgroup on Faculty Discipline report is posted in its entirety on the systemwide Academic Senate website to provide background to the proposed recommendations that are under review: https://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/_files/news/joint-senate-administration-workgroup-report-on-faculty-discipline.pdf. [32 pages]

As noted in the attached letter from Deputy Provost Lee and Vice Provost Varsanyi, this review is being initiated in August to ensure timely input ahead of the January 20-22, 2026 meeting of the Board of Regents when this policy item will be heard by the Board, and to align with the mid-December deadline for Regents’ meeting materials. Key portions of the proposed policy revisions and accompanying materials have been publicly available since the May 2025 Regents meeting and have already generated early faculty feedback to systemwide Senate leadership. In addition, the University Committee on Privilege and Tenure (UCPT) will soon be convening a workgroup of Senate faculty and P&T analysts to study the materials and provide feedback during the comment period.

Please submit comments to the systemwide Academic Senate Office at SenateReview@ucop.edu by November 10, 2025, to allow us to compile and summarize comments for the Academic Council’s November 17 meeting. Those comments, along with any additional comments from the Council, will also be reviewed at a January 15, 2026 meeting of the full Assembly of the Academic Senate.

As always, any committee that considers these matters outside its jurisdiction or charge may decline to comment.

Sincerely,

Steven W. Cheung, 2024-25 Chair, Academic Council

Ahmet Palazoglu, 2025-26 Chair, Academic Council

cc: Senate Division Executive Directors, Senate Executive Director Lin

Source: https://senate.universityofcalifornia.edu/_files/underreview/council-chair-systemwide-senate-review-fac-disc-guidelines-apm-015-016-24.pdf.