Campus News
Welcome to the 2025–26 Academic Year: Opportunities and Priorities Ahead
I’m optimistic about the year, because I know what our campus community can accomplish together.
Dear Colleagues,
I’d like to welcome you all, especially our new faculty and staff members, to campus in fall 2025. I’m optimistic about the year, even as we face serious challenges, some internal and some external, because I know what our campus community can accomplish together.
For those who I have not had the opportunity to meet, a brief introduction: I’m a paleobiologist and geochemist who has been a faculty member at UC Santa Cruz for nearly 30 years. As a Senate leader (Committee on Planning and Budget chair), department chair, and dean, I worked to advance our extraordinary mission – to offer the benefits of learning at a top research university to the broadest range of qualified students. I’m serving as interim campus provost and executive vice chancellor (CPEVC) until the next permanent appointee comes on board. That search will launch later this month. As interim CPEVC, my role is twofold – to keep the campus on a steady footing during this transition and to make progress on a set of initiatives that can improve the way we work and the experience we offer our students. These are not just administrative exercises. They are about making the university more effective and sustainable for the long term, especially as we continue to work through a significant budget deficit.
Big Ideas and Process Improvements
We all understand we cannot reach financial stability by cutting alone. Otherwise we risk becoming a campus we do not want to be. We need to think about new and enhanced funding opportunities at the same time. That is the context for several projects now underway. Their overarching goal is to make UC Santa Cruz more effective and easier to navigate, while also reducing costs and generating revenue. Building on discussions held during the 2024-25 academic year, our top three priorities this year are:
- Reorganizing undergraduate advising – A task force is developing a suite of changes to be implemented beginning in January 2026.
- Role of the colleges in the first-year experience – Over the last six decades, the academic role of the colleges has not been static, and now is another opportune time for change. This year we will engage faculty, students, staff, the Academic Senate, and the Council of Provosts in a campus-wide discussion, informed by student surveys and national models, and provide the next provost with a clear direction.
- Streamlining the academic personnel review – Our current academic personnel processes creates high workloads at every level. This year, working with the Committee on Academic Personnel and the Committee on Faculty Welfare, we are exploring ways to simplify the process, standardize guidelines, and use technology to save time.
Additional Initiatives
In addition to those priorities, we are advancing initiatives to strengthen our academic offerings and financial foundation:
- Expanding academic opportunities – We are looking at ways to expand access to online majors and courses, as well as commuter students. These options can increase access and reduce costs for students from the region, provide more flexibility, and support timely graduation, while also having a positive effect on our budget.
- Strategic enrollment – Increasing enrollment of out-of-state and international students can diversify our student body while strengthening revenues.
- Master’s students – Diversifying our offerings of master’s programs and increasing enrollments in these programs can better support student demand, workforce development, and our resource base.
- Amplify Summer Session – Summer Session is a strategic lever for improving retention, reducing time-to-degree, and growing net revenue. We have identified departments with strong opportunities to expand summer online offerings and will be working with deans and department chairs to offer more courses as soon as summer 2026.
- Review funding models – As we enter the third year of the instructional supplement, TA, and staffing models, we will evaluate their effectiveness in meeting campus needs and adjust as necessary.
Employee Housing
We are also making progress on employee housing. The Employee Housing Workgroup, which includes faculty, staff, Academic Senate, and Staff Advisory Board representatives, began meeting last spring.
- Delaware Project – Opening in fall 2026, it will provide 62 employee units, including 19 reserved for low-to-moderate income households. Rental rates will balance affordability with financial sustainability. The majority of the project, 300–400 units, will house students.
- Ranch View Terrace 2 – The updated design emphasizes rental units. Because of ongoing litigation related to our Long Range Development Plan, a new environmental impact report is required, which is delaying the timeline and increasing costs. We are assessing financial feasibility before moving forward with development.
This year offers us the chance to make meaningful progress on issues that matter deeply to our community, including student success, housing, and faculty and staff workload. I’m grateful for the work you do and the difference it makes for our students and our university. I look forward to the year ahead together.
Sincerely,
Paul
Paul Koch
Interim Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor