The Washington Post reports:
The University of California at Berkeley, the nation’s most prestigious public university, is facing a “substantial and growing” budget deficit and is preparing to take measures that its leader warned will be “painful” as it repositions itself financially.
University Chancellor Nicholas Dirks announced Wednesday that Berkeley needs to review almost every aspect of the school’s finances — including its academic and administrative structure, how it generates revenue and philanthropy, and what it spends on athletics and buildings. Berkeley officials say the school’s expenses are projected to exceed revenues this year by about $150 million, or 6 percent of its operating budget.
There's more:
Like many public universities, Berkeley has relied increasingly on out-of-state students in recent years to boost its finances. Non-Californians pay a big premium to attend the school; their tuition and fees — $38,139 a year — are nearly triple what state residents pay.
The share of Berkeley freshmen from California has fallen sharply. Federal data show that 90 percent of the school’s freshmen were in-state students in 2004. By 2014, the share had fallen to 69 percent. That was one of the biggest drops in the country among the nation’s flagships. In the coming year, the school and others in the UC system plan to grow the number of students admitted from California.
The struggles of Blue America.
