March 5, 2024 - This brief analyzes the Governor’s January budget proposal for the College of the Law, San Francisco (CLSF). The brief first provides background on the law school. It then describes the Governor’s budget proposal and the school’s corresponding plans for 2024‑25. The brief concludes by providing an associated recommendation.
March 8, 2023 - The Governor’s budget proposes to increase base General Fund support for the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (UC Law SF) by $2.2 million (12 percent) in 2023‑24. After accounting for other revenue increases (primarily from student tuition revenue), UC Law SF’s total ongoing core budget would increase by $5.8 million (7.7 percent). We recommend the Legislature consider the base General Fund augmentation of 12 percent an upper bound. The proposed percentage increase is the largest among the education segments. Additionally, we recommend the Legislature reject the Governor’s proposal to provide one‑time funding for the school’s Urban Alchemy program. Given campus safety is part of the school’s core operations, we recommend program costs be covered using the school’s core ongoing funding.
May 10, 2022 - The Governor’s January budget proposes a $2 million (12 percent) General Fund base increase for the Hastings College of the Law (Hastings) in 2022‑23. After accounting for other revenue increases (primarily from student tuition revenue), Hastings’ total ongoing core budget would increase by $5 million (6.7 percent). Generally, we think the Governor’s proposal is a good starting point for budget deliberations. This is because Hastings’ corresponding expenditure plan primarily focuses on basic workload adjustments. That said, we emphasize that this proposal is a starting point. The Legislature likely will want to weigh this proposal against its other 2022‑23 budget priorities. Moreover, we note that Hastings could face higher‑than‑expected costs in 2022‑23 as part of its recent initiative to change its name.
February 22, 2021 - This report analyzes the Governor's proposal to provide the Hastings College of the Law a General Fund base increase in 2021-22.
February 27, 2025 - In this brief, we analyze the state’s budget plan relating to UC’s core operations and enrollment.
February 1, 2021 - This report analyzes the Governor’s major budget proposals for the universities, covering base funding, enrollment, students’ basic needs, faculty professional development, and deferred maintenance.
November 10, 2020 - The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the shift to campuses operating re-motely, the economic downturn, and state funding reductions have created fiscal challenges for the California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC). To help address these challenges, the 2020-21 Budget Act signaled the Legislature’s intent that the universities begin drawing down their core reserves for academic programs. Prior to the pandemic, the most recent data available showed that core reserves totaled $1.7 billion at CSU and $1.2 billion at UC. CSU and UC also plan to use their noncore reserves to maintain their self-supporting pro-grams (such as housing and parking), which have lost revenue due to remote operations. Importantly, though the state viewed the universities’ reserves as a budget tool for mitigating funding reductions this year, state law is silent on the level of reserves CSU and UC are to carry, the purposes of those reserves, and the interaction of those reserves with the state’s reserves. We encourage the Legislature to set clearer expectations regarding the state’s and the segments’ responsibilities for building reserves for future economic uncertainties. Developing a specific policy in this area would benefit from further analysis, as the reserve levels required to respond to any future situation would depend upon many factors (including the magnitude of a future economic downturn and the likelihood the state reduces funding for the universities).
Updated 12/10/20: This post has been updated to reflect new reserve levels at UC Santa Barbara.
January 31, 2023 - In this brief, we provide an overview and initial analysis of the Governor’s higher education budget plan.
February 28, 2024 - In this brief, we analyze the Governor’s budget proposals for the University of California (UC). We have sections focusing on UC’s core operations and enrollment. We also revisit recent UC one-time initiatives and capital projects the state had funded.
February 1, 2021 - Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Education Finance.
May 18, 2015 - In this brief, we analyze the Governor’s higher education May Revision proposals. In the first section, we provide an overview of funding for higher education. In the next three sections, we describe and assess the Governor’s major proposals for the University of California (UC), the California State University (CSU), and the Awards for Innovation program, respectively. We discuss proposals for the California Community Colleges (CCC) in our companion Proposition 98 budget brief. The Appendix to the brief contains seven figures that have detailed higher education budget data.
February 15, 2024 - In this brief, we analyze the Governor’s budget proposals for the California State University (CSU). We also revisit recent CSU one-time initiatives and capital projects.
March 13, 2020 - In this post, we analyze the Governor’s proposal to provide Hastings College of the Law with a $1.4 million ongoing, unrestricted General Fund increase. As it reviews this budget request, we encourage the Legislature to consider each aspect of the school’s plan to increase overall operational spending, reduce tuition discounting, grow enrollment, and eliminate its operating deficit.