UC Regents to consider cutting freshman enrollment next fall
The University of California Regents will hold a special meeting Jan. 14 via teleconference to discuss a plan that would cut freshman enrollment at UC campuses for the 2009-2010 academic year as a result of insufficient state funding.
When the regents adopted the 2009-2010 budget proposal in November, they also adopted a resolution threatening to cut enrollment if the state does not provide adequate funding. Currently, UC enrolls 11,000 more students than for which it receives state funding. Adjusted for inflation and enrollment growth, the state’s per student spending has fallen 40 percent since 1990 – from $15,860 to $9,560.
The regents are “reluctant to constrain freshman access to the university but continuing budget cuts to the university left no choice,” according to a UC Office of the President press release.
The meeting begins with public comment at 2 p.m. More information, including a meeting agenda, is available at universityofcalifornia.edu.
UC begins distributing Enron settlement
UC began distributing the largest settlement in the history of securities class action lawsuits on Dec. 19 to nearly 35,000 former UC students, some receiving as much as $12,000. The first stage of the process will eventually distribute $5 billion to approximately 200,000 victims of the Enron fraud scandal, seven years after the former energy firm collapsed. So far the university has paid out $33 million.
“The University of California serves as lead plaintiff for Enron investors in their class action against the bankrupt company’s various accountants, lawyers and senior executives as well as several banks whose alleged active and knowing participation resulted in the Enron fraud,” according to a UC Office of the President press release.
The settlement covers numerous securities types affected by the firm’s fraud. The initial distribution phase is a partial payment to most eligible claimants. The process is being conducted in phases because some claims remain unsettled due to their sheer number and complexity, according to a UC press release.
ALYSOUN BONDE can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
