UC, CSU Systems Freeze Wages

With the state’s budget about to run out of cash, California’s public universities have announced they will freeze salaries for hundreds of top administrators, and halt construction projects.

The University of California and California State University systems said they would not give raises to executives on campuses or at university headquarters this year; and the UC system, pending approval by the Board of Regents next week, will cancel some bonuses for the highest-paid administrators.

The move affects hundreds of officials in the two systems: about 285 at UC and 150 at CSU. Most have six-figure salaries.

The CSU system announced it has suspended bond-financed construction on all 23 campuses after a state board said it would withhold payments.

And the UC released details of a plan to trim freshman enrollment by 6% this year: students will be less likely to be admitted to the campus of their choice.