Notes in Higher Education

Graduate Student Union threatens strike at UCLA

On Oct 1, UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale received a letter threatening a quarter strike if the chancellor refused to honor the union's request for open discussion about the university recognizing them as a formal union.

Eight of the UC campuses voted last spring to approve a fall quarter strike of teaching assistants and other student employees with jobs in academics and are part of the organization if the university does not recognize the union.

The last time these academic student employees went on strike was during the 1996-97 school year.

Past strikes failed to convince the administration to change their position on the matter.

The chancellor has not yet announced whether he plans to meet with the union leaders.

Magazine drops UT-Austin ratings

The magazine issued surveys to students at 61 business schools and 350 companies that recruit MBAs.

Last year, a number of UT business students released a memo informing the student body of the ranking procedure. BusinessWeek officials claim the memo may have influenced students' responses. The magazine, in response, lowered the university's score on the student section of the survey.

The BusinessWeek rankings gave the UT Graduate School of Business a corporate ranking of 12 and a student ranking of 28, for an overall rank of 18. The rating puts them up two spots from 1996 ranking, the last year the magazine conducted the survey.

UT officials claimed their rank would have been higher if not for the penalty.

This year's rankings will be published in the magazine's Oct. 19 issue.

Market has little effect on Yale endowments

But Even though this year's operating budget will be $10 million smaller than expected because of the endowment losses this summer, the university will experience a minimal loss.

Oklahoma schools among the nation's cheapest

The study also showed that $170.8 million in scholarships and grants was available to college students in the state - a 4.7 percent increase from the previous year and a 56.6 percent increase from 1990.

Regents from Oklahoma state higher education institutions said they developed a long-term plan that will have student playing about one-third of their college costs.

The regents also said tuition at state schools and universities in Oklahoma is at a lower rate than the rate of inflation.

-Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Susan T. Port

10-14-98