July 3, 2000
State budget invests in UC teaching, research, public service
Governor Gray Davis signed a 2000-01 state budget June 30 that funds student enrollment
growth at the University of California, expansion of UC's programs for K-12 teachers,
increased compensation for university employees, improvements in UC hospital infrastructure,
and the creation of three new science institutes pursuing research important to the
California economy.
The budget also provides funds to keep UC mandatory systemwide student fees even
and to reduce summer fees to the level of the rest of the academic year, starting
in summer 2001.
"This budget allows us to maintain access to a high-quality, affordable education
for all UC-eligible students while also making strategic investments in research,
health care and outreach to California's elementary and secondary schools,"
said UC President Richard C. Atkinson. "I speak for the entire University of
California community in thanking the governor and the legislature for their extraordinary
support."
With the benefit of exceptionally strong state revenues, the new budget increases
UC's state-funded operating budget by $486 million, or 18 percent, to $3.2 billion
for the 2000-01 fiscal year. The state-funded capital budget for UC is $346 million,
consisting of $213 million in Proposition 1A bond funds and $133 million in state
general funds. The budget also authorizes the university to use $600 million in lease-revenue
bond funds for earthquake-safety renovations at UC hospitals.
Highlights of the budget for UC include:
Enrollment growth: The budget funds enrollment growth of 6,000 students, or
4 percent. This increase includes the next steps in UC's multi-year effort to double
the number of students in its teacher credential programs and to expand engineering
and computer science enrollments by 50 percent to help meet California's workforce
needs in these fields.
Student fees: The budget provides funds to avoid a mandatory systemwide fee
increase for the sixth consecutive year, keeping fees at $3,429 for resident undergraduates
and $3,609 for resident graduate academic students, excluding campus-based miscellaneous
fees. Between 1998-99 and 1999-2000, mandatory systemwide fees actually decreased
10 percent for resident undergraduates and 5 percent for resident graduate academic
students.
The budget also will make classes during the summer more affordable for UC students.
The state historically has not funded the summer session at UC, so students have
been required to pay higher fees to cover instructional costs. The new budget provides
funding to make summer fees equivalent with the rest of the academic year, starting
in 2001.
Expansion of summer instruction is one of UC's strategies for accommodating an expected
40 percent enrollment increase by 2010. The university will continue seeking additional
state funds for the faculty, staff and other costs associated with an expanded summer
term.
Employee compensation: The budget includes funding for employee salary increases,
with additional funding especially for employees in lower-paid positions, as described
below. These are not across-the-board increases; actual pay increases will vary depending
upon an employee's compensation program and applicable collective bargaining requirements.
Funding is provided for an average 2 percent employee salary increase, plus normal
merit increases; an additional 1 percent market-based adjustment for faculty members,
to keep UC salaries competitive with those offered by its comparison institutions;
and market-based adjustments for cooperative extension specialists and certain information
technology employees. The governor also has approved an augmentation of $19 million
for salaries of staff employees and other employees not eligible for the faculty
market-based adjustment, with a priority on improving compensation for lower-paid
UC employees. The exact distribution of these funds has not yet been determined.
Undergraduate education: The budget includes $6 million to improve undergraduate
instruction, the first installment of an investment that UC hopes to eventually expand
to $50 million per year. Campuses will be able to use the funding to reduce class
sizes, offer additional lower-division seminars, provide more undergraduate research
opportunities, and offer more academic advising, among other things.
Outreach and K-14 programs: The budget includes $71 million to create or
expand UC-led programs providing professional development to teachers in California's
public schools. Major elements of this package include expansion of the California
Subject Matter Projects, which provide subject-specific professional development
activities; expansion of the Governor's Reading Professional Development Institutes
for K-3 teachers; and creation of similar professional development institutes for
high school math and English teachers.
Beyond teacher development programs, the budget also includes a $4 million augmentation
to a UC program (led by UCSC) providing online Advanced Placement courses to students
in schools with few or no AP classes; a $1 million expansion for the California State
Summer School for Math and Science, which provides enrichment to academically talented
high school students; a $1 million augmentation for the Mathematics, Engineering,
Science Achievement (MESA) program; $1 million for an initiative to improve community
college transfer to UC; and $1 million for graduate and professional school outreach.
The budget also provides $600,000 for UCSC's New Teacher Center.
Santa Clara Valley regional center: The budget provides $1.1 million to
begin planning a UC Santa Cruz regional center in the Silicon Valley, part of the
university's plans for accommodating student enrollment growth in the next decade.
Health care facilities: The budget provides $50 million for non-seismic infrastructure
needs at UC's five teaching hospitals, $25 million in one-time funds for hospital
equipment needs, and authorization to use $600 million in funding from lease-revenue
bonds for earthquake-safety renovations needed at UC medical centers.
California Institutes for Science and Innovation: UC's capital budget includes
$75 million for the creation of these three institutes, proposed by Gov. Davis, which
will focus on scientific and engineering research in fields key to the future of
the California economy. Each institute will bring together faculty, students and
industrial partners to work in cross-disciplinary teams aimed at developing the next
generation of knowledge in the field. Preliminary proposals for the centers are being
reviewed, and selections will be made in the fall.
Capital program: The capital budget, which includes $213 million in bond funds
approved by voters through Prop. 1A, will fund a variety of projects throughout the
UC system to expand and upgrade academic buildings for enrollment growth, renew outdated
infrastructure, and make earthquake-safety improvements. Also, $4 million in general
funds is provided for planning alterations and new facilities at the UC Davis School
of Veterinary Medicine to address accreditation requirements.
Building maintenance and other core needs: The budget includes a 1 percent
increase, or $26 million, in ongoing funds for building maintenance, instructional
technology, instructional equipment and library materials at UC. It also provides
an additional $20 million in one-time funds specifically for deferred maintenance,
instructional equipment and libraries.
UC Merced: The budget provides $44 million through two state agencies to foster
the development of the new UC Merced campus in environmentally sensitive ways, including
development of a habitat conservation plan and acquisition of additional acreage
to ensure protection of wetlands and wildlife. The budget also provides $19 million
for initial infrastructure and for planning and working drawings of the first two
buildings at UC Merced--the Science and Engineering Building and the Library/Information
Technology Center. The budget includes approximately $10 million in ongoing operating
funds for the campus.
Internet2: UC will use $50 million in the new budget to expand access to Internet2,
the high-speed next-generation electronic highway. Of this amount, $32 million will
be used to expand Internet2 access at K-12 schools; $18 million will be used for
that purpose at UC campuses.
Graduate medical education: The budget's implementing legislation extends
for two years a program that uses state funds to leverage federal dollars to help
fund the costs of providing graduate medical education at UC teaching hospitals.
Research initiatives: The budget includes more than $60 million for a variety
of other research initiatives. Highlights include $30 million for the MIND Institute
(Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders) at UC Davis; $6 million to
expand the university's research efforts on labor issues affecting California's workforce;
$5 million for collaboration with Mexican scholars on U.S.-Mexico issues; and $5
million for expanded research in the fields of engineering and computer science.
