University of California to slash spending

[hawkette]

<p>From today's WSJ:</p>

<p>California's</a> Money Woes Trigger Cutback Plans at UC - WSJ.com</p>

<p>I have a hard time seeing how they're going to get $500 million in savings from consolidating things like their purchasing operations. Anyone else have any thoughts on this??</p>

[Bay]

<p>It has been my impression that on the one hand, “The University of California” presents itself as one university for prestige purposes, but in reality, each campus functions as a discrete, autonomous university. There is probably quite a bit of consolidating they could do to save money.</p>

[bovertine]

<p>^^^
I don’t know, that does seem like an optimistic prediction for savings. Usually in business I think “consolidate operations” translates to “fire people.”</p>

[Erin_s_Dad]

<p>I don’t subscribe and could only see the teaser portion but "roll out common supply-procurement and human-resources systems to replace individual campus systems.</p>

<p>Other measures include accelerating energy-efficiency projects, consolidating information-technology operations and loaning campuses"</p>

<p>If each school has to maintain those different systems then there could be significant savings. And consolidate operations does mean to fire people, whether people on the university payrolls or just not outsource that work to another company.</p>

[barrons]

<p>What is the total UC budget? $10 Billion or more?. $500 M would be just a 5% cut which any large institution can handle.</p>

[UCLA_Band_Mom]

<p>According to today’s UCLA Student Newspaper The Daily Bruin, Governor Schwarzeneggar is restoring millions to the UC System</p>

<p>[The</a> Daily Bruin | Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s May Revise would restore millions of dollars to the UC budget](<a href=“http://www.dailybruin.com/articles/2010/5/18/gov-arnold-schwarzeneggers-may-revise-would-restor/]The”>http://www.dailybruin.com/articles/2010/5/18/gov-arnold-schwarzeneggers-may-revise-would-restor/)</p>

<p>

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s May Revise would restore millions of dollars to the UC budget
By Neil Paik </p>

<p>May 18, 2010 at 1:36 a.m. </p>

<p>Funding for the University of California was a top priority for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Friday in his May Revise, as he proposed restoring millions of dollars to the UC budget, along with more than $50 million to support student access.</p>

<p>In addition to the restoration of funding to the UC, Schwarzenegger also included an item that would reinstate capital for the competitive Cal Grants program. In January, the Governor’s budget proposed eliminating the grant.</p>

<p>The Cal Grant, which has been under constant revision by Sacramento for the past three years, allows low-income and non-traditional students, among others, to have state funding to attend California public universities.</p>

<p>“It will help us maintain access and protect financial aid for thousands of young Californians who look to our campuses as portals of opportunity,” said Ricardo Vazquez, spokesman for the UC Office of the President. “We’re especially pleased with the governor’s decision to fund Cal Grants.”</p>

<p>Another new addition to the Governor’s proposal was an additional $355 million for capital facility construction. The additional money will fund necessary construction projects around the UC campuses, while also creating an estimated 3,300 jobs in the private sector, according to Patrick Lenz, UC vice president for budget.</p>

<p>The verdict on the UC budget and California’s finances for the coming year will ultimately be decided by the state legislature in the coming weeks. According to Vazquez, the legislative decision may not be made until the summer.</p>

<p>“Knowing that California’s financial outlook for 2010-11 remains extremely challenging, we will continue to plan UCLA’s budget for next year under the assumption that the $305 million and the student enrollment funding will not be restored,” said Chancellor Gene Block in a message to the campus community.</p>

<p>The campus-wide 5 percent cuts initiated this year will be renewed, and new cuts will be made, according to the chancellor. On a positive note, salaries cut by the furlough program will be restored starting in September.</p>

<p>The Office of the President and the UC schools should have a clearer view of what other programmatic changes will be made in the coming year after this week’s UC Board of Regents meeting, on Wednesday and Thursday at UC San Francisco.</p>

<p>“It is true that even if the May Revise is adopted, the UC still faces a gap between the university’s needs and the resources,” Vazquez said. “One of the things they will look at and discuss at this meeting is … that we need to do our part by making the best use of our resources.”</p>

<p>In that respect, the fate of the furlough program and faculty employment throughout the UC system has yet to be determined.</p>

<p>While higher education may have been a top priority for the Governor’s May Revise, other facets of California’s economy were not treated as kindly.</p>

<p>One of the biggest cuts the Governor proposed was the elimination of the CalWORKS program, which provides temporary financial assistance and employment services to low-income families with minor children.</p>

<p>In addition, the new budget proposal decreases funding for mental health realignment programs and reduces the state’s participation in the In-Home Supportive Services program for the retired, blind and disabled.</p>

<p>The revise also proposed shifting portions of the state prison inmate population to county jails.</p>

<p>“The legislature has extremely difficult choices and decisions to make,” Vazquez said. “But we do hope that as the budget process unfolds this summer that the legislature supports the governor’s proposed funding for higher education.”</p>

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[ebeeeee]

<p>Good news from Arnold if it comes through. As far as consolidating, my business does business with one of the UCs and a military base. The process of procurement on the base is extremely inefficient and does not save money from what I have seen. If the UCS have to go through some kind of centralized procurement system vendors will likely raise their prices to accomodate all the hassle which will accompany such a system. PITA factor.</p>

[limabeans]

<p>Anything run by the government, be it federal or state, is totally inefficient and could use trimming. Saving $500 million by consolidating their purchasing operations is just one example.</p>

[barrons]

<p>Private corporations are NOT much if any better.</p>