University of California regents will gather this week to discuss faculty diversity, policies on Native American remains and artifacts and the ongoing effort to add more California students without further squeezing those already enrolled.
At their two-day meeting, which starts Wednesday at UCLA, regents plan to discuss how to significantly increase the number of graduates to help meet the state’s projected need for 1.1 million more workers with four-year college degrees by 2030.
UC expects to continue adding students to the 10-campus system, which already has upped the number of California undergraduates by more than 15,000 since 2014-15. But the university also will need to find ways to get them to graduate more quickly and hire more faculty in order to help the state meet its workforce needs, according to a UC report.
Students are pushing for a 10% reduction in tuition or an equivalent increase in financial aid. They also want the university system to spend more on mental health services, academic advising and support for immigrant, low-income and underrepresented minority students. The UC meanwhile has a host of pressing needs, including more student housing and classroom space, technology upgrades, building repairs and a way to manage the rising costs of retiree benefits.
Read the full story at LATimes.com.
