Nicotine lovers, take heed: the UC system is banning smoking and chewing tobacco on all ten of its campuses altogether starting in 2014. The ban, reports the San Francisco Chronicle, is intended to reduce students' and faculty's exposure to second-hand smoke, but it's also to reduce the number of kids who take up smoking in college. more ›

The chants of University of California (UC) students disrupted the UC Board of Regents teleconference meeting today at UCLA and other UC campuses, forcing board members to relocate to different meeting rooms. About 60 students from several campuses gathered in UCLA's Bruin Plaza to listen to the broadcasted teleconference and, of course, to protest. more ›

University of California (UC) campuses, we applaud you. Of the 400 international universities ranked in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings for 2011-12, eight UC campuses made the cut and were listed among the top 200. more ›

UC Chancellor Mark Yudof and CSU Chancellor Charles Reed announced Monday that they will not seek further tuition hikes this year, instead trimming enrollment and services to meet $1.4 billion in proposed cuts. The leaders warned, however, that if voters don’t approve Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax extensions in June, more cuts and fee hikes may be necessary. more ›

California’s Legislative Analyst Office (LAO) released a report yesterday with recommendations to address budget reductions for the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems. Governor Jerry Brown’s budget proposal for 2011-12 includes General Fund reductions of $500 million for the UC and CSU. more ›

California Governor Jerry Brown has been slowly peeling the band-aid off the "deep cuts" of his proposed state budget since he was sworn in last week. Brown released the budget today, which reflects a "painful spending plan affecting all aspects of state government," according to the Daily News. more ›

As tuition fees are set to increase significantly at UC and CSU campuses next fall, students are cutting back to part-time status, enrolling in less-costly community colleges or quitting school altogether, according to the LA Times. more ›

The University of California Board of Regents could approve a tuition increase today during their scheduled meeting, according to CBS2. more ›

Cal State University (CSU) students are preparing to protest as a vote this week to set next year's academic budget for the CSU system could result in an increase in tuition and enrollment fees. The Daily Sundial reports that faced with a difficult budget year and without a clear idea of what possible legislature help could look like for the CSU system, a proposed 5 percent increase is expected for spring 2011 and a 10 percent increase could go into effect for the 2011-2012 school year. more ›

Compiled annually and published online since 2003, the Academic Ranking of World Universities is thought to be one of the foremost lists of its kind. (Read about their methodology.) They have released their 2010 rankings, and Los Angeles' own UCLA earned a respectable Number 13 slot. more ›

Playboy has named UC Santa Barbara as one of the country's Top 10 Party Schools of 2010. The only California campus to make the cut, at UCSB their #8 ranking is credited to their "perfect mix of sun goddesses, sand and studying." Of course, being included in this 5th annual list isn't purely academic. Okay, so it's not really academic at all. Notes Playboy: "UCSB grads go on to do great things after their six years in college." So who's summa cum laude for the 2010 party class? It's the deep thinkers of the University of Texas at Austin. One LA school earned an honorable mention: USC, for the "hottest cheerleaders." Trojan pride, indeed. Previously: UCSB Ranked 10th Best Party School in the Nation (2008). more ›

Monday night was the deadline for prospective University of California students to have submitted their applications for consideration for admission for Fall 2010, but what officials are calling a computer "glitch" actually "prevented some filers from submitting their applications," according to CBS2. Because of the problem, the UC is extending the application deadline to 11:59 p.m. tonight to accommodate anyone who encountered technical difficulties while filing. more ›

It was a busy, loud and raucous day at UCLA as emotions ran high before and after a vote to increase tuition by 32 percent. Shortly before 1 p.m., the Board of UC Regents voted in favor of the increase, with only one dissenting vote from student regent Jesse Bernal. The extra money will help reduce layoffs, stop course reductions and put money away for financial aid. more ›

Today, for the most part, is much more peaceful than yesterday's protest about the move to increase tuition at University of California by 32%. Yesterday, when 14 were arrested (up from the 8 we reported) and one reportedly tasered, was a bit more out of control (see some photos)--here is one video showing that at the front lines (man, that one bicycle cop is sure angry). more ›

It's official, protests be damned, the controversial tuition hike has been approved by the Board of UC Regents, according to a live report on KCAL9. The 32% increase, which would begin by Fall, will add $2,500 to tuition, bringing it over $10,000. more ›

Things got a bit nutty this morning when students reportedly "stormed" and "took over" a building at UCLA in protest of the imminent UC Board of Regents' vote to increase tuition up to 32%. About 30 students raided Campbell Hall barricading the doors with chains and bike locks, said the LA Times. more ›

As protests and arrests take place outside, a UC Board of Regents' committee approved a large tuition increase at UCLA today, reports KNX1070. The move sends a two-tiered tuition increase proposal to the full board of regents, which meets tomorrow. If approved, students will see a 32 percent increase at UC campuses by next fall. Why is this all happening? The state budget blows, read background here. more ›

This week both voting bodies in charge of the University of California and the California State University systems are voting on budget plans for the 2010-11 school year, and both include ambitious requests to the state of California for hundreds of millions of dollars apiece to restore crippling budget cuts and, in fact, increase funding. more ›

This seems to be the week of the essay show, with Mortified and Sit N' Spin both tackling the genre, albeit in different ways. There's a ton of smaller shows around town too, like Benderdangle at the iO West Andy Dick theater on Saturday at 8p. In short, there's no reason to not get out and see some great stand up at Largo, or catch award-winning shows for free at Comedy Central Stage, or even drive down to Irvine for known headliners. Also, in recently developed (and huge) news, Martin Lawrence is back for some stand up at the Comedy Store on Friday and Saturday nights. more ›

The University of California system is facing a $535 million budget gap and is looking for solutions. That could mean higher tuition next year for students, but more immediately, officials are looking to require furlough days that would amount to a 4% to 10% pay cut for support staff and technical workers. If unions don't accept those, layoffs are the next option. more ›

Looking ahead already to the 2010-11, the University of California Board of Regents are preparing to face another fiscal year of budget shortfalls, according to a UC Newsroom release. The current budget gap of $535 million for the 2009-10 year "could grow to more than $600 million in the next fiscal year," and that has the UC looking for any and all ways to curb the shortfall. more ›

The state budget has finally been passed, and as a result billions of dollars have been cut from the coffers that help support education at all levels. Included are cuts to the large University of California and California State University systems, necessitating the respective campus network leaders to push through their own budgets cuts that include layoffs, furloughs, pay cuts, fee hikes, enrollment caps, and decreased resources. Despite student and faculty protests, the UC and CSU passed the proposals on the table that aim to stave off the shortfall. more ›

A budget deal was agreed on last night between top legislators and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Part of that deal was cutting $8 million from the state parks system, saving the majority of parks from the original proposal to cut around $70 million forcing the closure of 80% of them. more ›

The upcoming school year at California's two major public University systems continues to look bleak for students, faculty, and staff alike, as budget shortfalls are forcing school officials to recommend fee increases, furlough days, and enrollment stoppages in order to save costs. more ›

There's going to be 6.8% fewer freshmen figuring out post-secondary life on the nine University of California campuses come fall, and that's precisely what the schools were hoping for, according to the LA Times. more ›

With the failure of Prop 1A in last month's statewide election comes the reality of painful cuts to higher education in California. On the books for the upcoming academic year are announced enrollment cuts at both the California State University and University of California systems, and the likely denial of admission to 250,000 prospective Community College students thanks to a combined $825 million in budget cuts and $115 million in deferrals. more ›

Who knew? The University of California has a television station (UCTV) that began airing in Los Angeles earlier this month for Time Warner Cable subscribers (it was already available on the Dish Network on channel 9412). "The goal is for this local channel to become a home for content produced by Los Angeles' higher education institutions -- both public and private -- as well as from local arts and cultural organizations," a press release states. Making that point, it's about 1 p.m. and a program filmed at UC Santa Barbara called Getting Wize: Making Sense of Web 2.0 is just beginning. They also have logged over 3,200 of their shows on YouTube and stream the channel live on the internet. If your curious, the channel numbers by neighborhood are listed below: more ›

Oh, to be young and inclined to run around a campus at night in your underwear... The longing was put into action on the UC Irvine campus last week, as about 150 co-eds stripped down and sprinted out under the relative cover of night. "It's not illegal to run around in your underwear, as long as all the appropriate parts are covered," remarks the OC Register in their story on the run. They also note that the event is pretty huge here in Los Angeles, something UCLA students know very, very, very, very well. The UCI campus police hung back and watched, and made sure the students didn't run into the nearby shopping center--in case they ran into Irvine cops. Sure, it was cold, and sure, strangers were watching, but the bottom line was pretty straightforward, according to one student: "It felt really good to be free from all that stress, from finals and some issues at the dorm." more ›

University of California students waiting for their Cal Grants to come through will find their next payments are coming from another source--the UC schools. The UC announced today they "will provide funding to cover the value of UC students' Cal Grant awards for the spring term," using "resources from its short-term financial reserves," according to a UC news release. They're advancing the funds "with the expectation that the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) will disburse Cal Grant funds to campuses once the state adopts a final budget." Sadly, that budget remains in limbo; this month many programs and residents will be receiving IOU's instead of checks. The UC system also issued temporary funding to their students last fall when the budget caused delays in Cal Grant payments. more ›