The University of California Thread

[Aaron W]

Originally Posted by Maxim98

Wow, a post from two years ago from me.

Starting my third year this fall at Cal and I LOVE IT. This thread could definitely use more Berkeley love...

Well get out there and take some photos.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by prolixity

It would help to read about the California Master Plan for Education (ripped from UC site):

In addition to the University of California’s ten campuses, higher education in the state includes the 23 campuses of the California State University System, the 108 campuses of the California Community College System, and independent institutions throughout the state.

The California Master Plan for Higher Education, adopted by the state in 1960, helps integrate the missions of these colleges and universities in meeting the educational needs of Californians.

The Master Plan designates UC as the primary state-supported academic research institution. It also gives UC exclusive jurisdiction in public higher education for doctoral degrees (with the exception that CSU can award joint doctorates) and for instruction in law, medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine.

The Master Plan also established an admissions principle of universal access and choice, assigning UC to select its freshmen students from the top one-eighth (12.5%) of the high school graduating class and CSU from the top one-third (33.3%). The California Community Colleges were to admit any student capable of benefiting from instruction. The Master Plan was subsequently modified to provide that all California residents in the top one-eighth or top one-third of their high school graduating classes who apply on time be offered a place somewhere in the UC or CSU system, respectively.

The community college transfer function is an essential component of this commitment to access. Under the Master Plan, UC and CSU set aside upper division places for and give priority in the admissions process to eligible California Community College transfer students.

The Master Plan is one of California's truly outstanding accomplishments, because it helped in major ways to create the nation's largest and most distinguished system of higher education. Furthermore, California's economic vitality and its unequaled climate of opportunity are due in large part to the innovation, creativity, research and educated workforce that are the products of its higher education institutions.

No state in the nation has such a clearly defined overall plan as California. Now here's a question: does such a carefully deliniated plan work in California due to its nation-state size, or could it be transferable to other states?

I do realize that a simple transfer of the three tiered UC/CSU/CommCollege Calif system can't just simply be repackaged for another state. The UC's had grown into a massive and integrated system prior to the Calif plan. That the state's top two public institutions, Cal and UCLA, were part of the system is part of what made it work. Simply put, since both UC and CSU provided the overlay, the Calif system could work well.

But could it work in another large state, like Texas? Both UT-Austin and TAMU are part of their own systems. Wouldn't the two have to be grouped together rather than with the other schools in their own system to make a Texas set up like California's work?

How about Florida? All public universities there are under the same system. Would the state need to give a special status to UF and FSU, admittedly already the flagships but without the institutionalized role of the UC's? While under separate boards, could Michigan do something similiar with U-M and MSU and make their role different from other in-state universities?

And again, does population matter? Is Texas's huge population able to accommodate such a plan even though that population isn't Calif size. Or Florida in a similiar way. Is Michigan, a large state admittedly, still too small for such a set up?

[lemonades]

I'm deciding between Cal and Stanford and I'm leaning towards Cal right now, even if it will cost me a little bit more than attending Stanford. I will be majoring Economics at grad-postgrad level. Both schools are amazing, but I just love the Cal vibe. It's too early for me to decide though as I'm waiting for the decisions of Harvard, MIT and Columbia. I think only Harvard can persuade me not to go to Cal, at the moment.

[timoga_lover]

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ

[timoga_lover]

pictures updates please!