The governing board of the University of California met for the second day of its November meeting at UC San Francisco on Wednesday.
Compliance and audit committee
- Rachel Nava, executive vice president and chief operating office of the UC Office of the President, said she thinks the first phase of implementing recommendations from the California State Auditor is fully complete.
- Nava said six months after the California State Auditor released its report for the audit of UCOP’s expenditures in April, UCOP fully implemented four of the 33 total recommendations and the regents fully implemented one of seven recommendations.
Academic and Student Affairs Committee:
- UC Provost Michael Brown said the Academic Verification Task Force, which UC President Janet Napolitano created in September to review the UC’s policies regarding verifying the academic qualifications of admitted students, had several recommendations. The task force recommended that campuses send at least two reminders before the deadline for students to submit official records, and have a grace period after the published deadline, among other recommendations.
- Brown added many of the recommendations are already followed by most campuses, but said the task force aims to standardize procedures across the UC.
Finance and Capital Strategies Committee
- UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla said he wants UCSD to guarantee four years of housing for undergraduate students, and doctoral students. He added the housing would be 20 percent below market value.
- The committee approved the budget and external financing for a new arts and social sciences building at UCSD.
- The committee approved the design for two graduate housing buildings at UCSD to follow the California Environmental Quality Act.
- The committee approved the budget, scope and external financing plan for the Ridge Walk Academic Complex at UCSD.
- The committee delayed an action item to give UCOP authority to enter a service agreement with Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., a producer of hybrid seeds. The agreement would indemnify the company to provide services for research projects at UC Davis. Regent Eloy Ortiz Oakley said he does not know the risks of partnering with Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. and how much it would cost.
- The committee approved the campuses’ 10-year capital financial plan. The 10-year capital financial plan includes campus projects for which funding has not been specified. After the capital financial plan is approved by the regents, the UC will send it to the state government to create a five-year capital outlay plan.
- The committee approved the UC’s 2017 financial reports. The University’s pension funds received positive results this year because of strong returns on investment portfolios.
- UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, said the campus realized in September it is unlikely to successfully deploy UCPath by January 1, 2018, because UCLA has over 48,000 employees and found defects while trying to implement the program. UCPath is a uniform center for managing payroll across the UC’s campuses.
- Mark Cianca, UC associate vice president of operational services, said all UC employees will eventually be transitioned to UCPath. He added UCOP, UC Riverside, UC Merced and ASUCLA are currently implementing UCPath.