Major Reforms Set to Hit California's Higher Education Systems

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Higher Education Governance Accountability Act Signed Into Law

By Leland Yee, Ph.D.
Assistant President pro Tem
California State Senate

A few days ago, the Governor signed into law legislation I authored in response to the recent executive pay scandals at the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU). Senate Bill (SB) 190, the Higher Education Governance Accountability Act, is designed to bring major reforms to the governing boards of the two higher education systems and to end the continuing executive pay hikes that have recently tarnished our public institutions.

The Legislature and the Governor have now sent a very clear message to the UC and CSU: it is time to end the culture of secrecy and arrogance. No longer should the students, faculty and staff – the backbone of our public universities – be left to bear the burden, while top execs live high on the hog.

SB 190 comes after a series of audits, lawsuits and other revelations found that the UC and the CSU failed to get public approval from the Regents and Trustees for compensation packages and that some top executives were paid more than what was released to the public. Over the past several months, the Regents and Trustees have handed out a number of excessive executive compensation payouts and also increased student fees.

Specifically, SB 190 (Chapter 523) will require all executive compensation packages to be voted on in an open session of a subcommittee and the full board. The bill would also require full disclosure of the compensation package with accompanying rationale, allow the public to comment on such action items, and make public previously closed advisory group meetings that deal with compensation matters.

Executive salaries have gotten so out of control that both the CSU Chancellor and the UC President now make in excess of $400,000. A recent UC salary report showed that over $5 million was spent on executive bonuses in the past year alone. Last month at the first Trustees meeting of the new school year, the CSU also approved exorbitant pay raises for their top executives while once again hiking student fees.