How UCLA Is Funded ...
And Why It Matters to All of Us
And Why It Matters to All of Us
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the university doing to encourage efficiency and to reduce its costs?
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We are always looking for ways to cut costs and increase efficiency. For example, in the late 1990s, UCLA began a strategic sourcing initiative that returned more than $50 million in direct savings and rebates to campus departments, the UC Office of the President and UC Merced. (UCLA provides business services to the Merced campus and president’s office.)
From 1998 to 2006, during a time when campus space increased by 2 million square feet, UCLA saved $16.6 million in purchased utilities. And our many investments in energy efficiency are expected to dramatically reduce energy costs in the future.
Why does this kind of “crisis” seem to occur every year in Sacramento?
Because of the way the state gets the lion’s share of its revenues. Personal income tax, which accounts for more than half of California’s general fund revenues and gives lawmakers the most flexibility to fix problems in the budget, is based on a formula that dictates that the smallest number of high-income taxpayers pay the largest amount of personal income tax.
Sounds fair, right? But most affluent taxpayers don’t derive most of their income from wages or salaries but from business income, stock market earnings and stock options, among other sources. So state revenue can fluctuate widely as the economy rises or falls. And that, as we’ve noted, often spells trouble for higher education funding, one of the only places in the budget over which legislators have any real control.
