The UC Board of Regents met at UCSF from July 16-18.
The following highlights from this meeting are:
*items marked with an asterisk are agenda items tracked during this meeting.
In the Basic Needs committee, a presentation was made on how UC supports students’ financial literacy* needs within its current basic needs service model. Some campuses offer workshops during student orientation or provided training to those that contacted the financial crisis center. UCLA had an impressive system, where they determined which students receive a large cash amount from financial aid for living expenses and provided 2500 such students with financial literacy training. 60% of the trainees were Pell-grant recipients. This was determined as a best practice. Financial aid literacy prepares students to be the adults they are as carry greater responsibilities like filing taxes, taking out car loans, or managing a house mortgage. The UC Berkeley has several services through the Financial Aid and Scholarships program like funding and staff support for food assistance, winter break housing, emergency housing, support for CalFresh messaging, and a financial wellness program.
Another presentation on housing insecurity* was made by AVP Elizabeth Halimah and UCSF Assistant Professor Suzanna Martinez. The UC Global Food Initiative was started several objectives, including to explore housing insecurity and homelessness among UC students. Research was conducted as part of this initiative and recruited participants from Berkeley, Irvine, Merced, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz through basic needs hubs and food pantries. Reports of housing insecurity increased from 34 to 63 percent after the time frame for questions was changed from 30 days to 12 months. Martinez stated that findings from this research should be released by the Fall 2020 and will be used to estimate homelessness and housing insecurity along with identifying critical intervention points. Chair Perez encouraged the board towards long-term plans for housing affordability, such as how a UC campus is financing their housing and offering it at 10% below the market rate.
In the Academic and Student Affairs Committee, UCSA President Caroline Siegel Singh presented the UCSA and Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS) report on student debt*. The report shows that low-income students are more likely to borrow money compared to their higher-income peers. By race, African American and Chicano/Latino students are more likely to graduate with debt than their white peers. By campus, students at UCM are more likely to graduate with debt than students of any other UC campus. Though financial aid exists, it does not comprehensively address total cost of attendance which is around $34,700 annually. Currently, African American and Chicano/Latino students were more likely to borrow at every income level than their peers and have more debt. This is in spite of the fact that underrepresented students receive more financial aid. Interim Director of Student Financial Support Shawn Brick stated that there are two explanations: either the delay in graduation of underrepresented students causes the greater level of debt taken on or the formula used to determine parents’ ability to pay fall short. Several recommendations were made including focusing on improving time-to-degree to close gaps in debt, partnering with nonprofits that can directly offer scholarships to underrepresented students in need, and facilitating dialogue between financial aid directors and basic needs coordinators to serve students in financial crisis.
In the Public Engagement and Development Committee, Chief Medical Officer Brad Buchman presented on the need for more investment from the state in mental health*. Members discussed the importance of pursuing Proposition 63 funding on a local level for mental health services. Committee Chair Leib suggested putting together a working group with himself, Regents Lansing, Kieffer, and Thurmond, and Chancellor Block to study the issue further.
In the Governance Committee, policies regarding UC contracting out practices* was discussed. CFO Bostrom stated that financial savings will never guide the decision for subcontracting. Perez recommended eliminating any potential for economic benefit by guaranteeing that outside employees are paid at the same level or higher than UC employees. This change will be pursued by UCOP.
The cohort-based tuition model* was tabled for the Board meeting in November.
At the conclusion of the Board of Regents meeting and the 2018-19 Academic Year, Regents’ Grades are:
Regent Anguiano: 66%
Regent Blum: 65%
Regent Elliot: 53%
Regent Guber: 56%
Regent Kieffer: 66%
Regent Lansing: 67%
Regent Makarechian: 71%
Regent Oakley: 73%
Regent Park: 73%
Regent Perez: 88%
Regent Sherman: 54%
Regent Zettel: 59%
Regent Cohen: 79%
Regent Butler: 63%
Regent Estolano: 67%
Regent Leib: 83%
Regent Sures: 43% (not enough information – only 4 meetings attended)
