University of California

The University of California (UC) is a public university system within the State of California. It has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students and over 1,340,000 living alumni. The first campus (which is now UC Berkeley) was founded in 1868, while the tenth and newest campus opened in the fall of 2005 near the city of Merced. Collectively and individually, the University of California's campuses boast large numbers of distinguished faculty in almost every field. The University is considered a model for public institutions across the United States, although as of the 2002-03 fiscal year, only 38% of its total budget comes from the State. All campuses enroll both undergraduate and graduate students with the exception of the San Francisco campus, which enrolls only graduate and professional students in the medical and health sciences. It is widely considered to be the most prestigious public university system in the world.

Administration

While the UC campuses are operated fairly efficiently, the system does have a reputation among its students and alumni for mediocre customer service. The most common symptoms are the long lines which students often must stand in to get even the simplest administrative tasks accomplished, the long wait times before phone calls are answered, and the overcomplicated paperwork that is often required.

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During the 1990s, some campuses (like UCLA) aggressively streamlined many internal procedures with Web applications. Others (like UC Berkeley) were slower to adapt — as of 2005, Berkeley students still enroll in classes via the aging Tele-BEARS system, which is a Web interface on top of an older touch-tone telephone system.

Related Topics:
Web application - 2005

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In turn, UC's customer service problems may have something to do with the fact that UC campuses generally lag behind comparable universities, in terms of the percentage of alumni that give back to their alma mater.

Related Topics:
Alumni - Alma mater

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