California Gov. Jerry Brown was scheduled to attend the University of California’s Board of Regents meeting Wednesday and will ask the UC system to embrace more online courses, maintain student fees and tighten its fiscal belt, the Los Angeles Times reported. 

According to the Times, Brown has been meeting privately with university leaders for months, seeking to understand the university’s culture and problems. 

From the Los Angeles Times:

Brown hopes to use state purse strings to force down their expenses, hold the line on tuition and fees, and graduate more students more quickly.

He wants more teaching, less research and more online courses to save money and increase offerings. He says more students should be accepted from California's community colleges.

The governor’s proposed state budget released last week included additional funding for the UC and Cal State University system - more than $250 million each. The funds would be enough to avoid tuition hikes in the fall.

Brown said the universities must "reconfigure themselves so that they are more effective and they're able to do excellent work, but do it in a way that will not keep the costs escalating.”

 

Read more of Neon Tommy’s coverage on the UC system here.

Reach Executive Producer Agnus Dei Farrant here.