Cal Poly reduces 410 full-time spots for 2003-04, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
More than 400 students hoping to begin their degree programs at Cal Poly Pomona in the 2003-04 academic year will have to find somewhere else to learn.

Another student sues over E. coli, San Luis Obispo Tribune
A Cal Poly student has filed a lawsuit asserting that she contracted E. coli bacteria from eating tainted alfalfa sprouts in the university's cafeteria.

CSU campuses to limit new students in spring, San Jose Mercury-News
A half-dozen California State University campuses will not admit new students this spring, and three have closed their doors to first-time freshmen as California's largest four-year university system responds to a $345 million cut in state funding.

Housing prices hurt CSUH, Hayward Review
Difficulty recruiting, retaining faculty inspires university officials.

CSUS to curb spring '04 transfers, Sacramento Bee
California State University, Sacramento, officials have announced enrollment cutbacks that will bar some students from transferring to the campus for the 2004 spring semester.

Cal State to Curb Spring Admission, Los Angeles Times
Citing budget cuts, only five of 23 campuses will accept all who qualify. Plans vary at the others.

Proposal Would Dock Officials' Pay When Budget Doesn't Pass, Los Angeles Times
A drive is underway to put an initiative on the March ballot to hold the governor and the state's lawmakers accountable.

UC Santa Barbara pioneers Chicano doctoral program, San Francisco Chronicle
Department to be first in U.S., results from decade-old student, faculty demands, strike.

UC asks judge to review order to disclose VC results, San Jose Mercury News
The University of California Regents have asked a state court to reconsider a ruling made two weeks ago forcing the university to release the financial performance results of its investments in venture capital.

Summer Learning Takes a Hit From Budget Cuts, Los Angeles Times
Remedial courses are mostly unaffected, but enrichment classes get larger -- or close.

Sparking interest, San Jose Mercury-News
This fall, the first crop of ninth-graders will enter a new construction technology academy at Yerba Buena High School. The intensive, hands-on program is the product of a partnership between the East Side Union High School District and the Building & Construction Trades Council..

Schools chief in trenches, Sacramento Bee
Inside the buzzing classroom of Old Marshall School, Jack O'Connell, state superintendent of public instruction, looked over Adrienne Wyman's shoulder, scanning a fraction worksheet. "What's the common denominator on that guy?" he asked a hesitating Wyman.

Frosh find ways to remake themselves, Christian Science Monitor
First-year college students have a rare opportunity to start over with a group of people who don't know anything about them.

The Best, the Top, the Most, New York Times
America is fascinated with competitive lists, and by combining that obsession with higher education's status-defining role, the assorted ranking systems have become a highly lucrative and influential industry.

Rule Change Would Let Students Go Online to Approve Release of Personal Data, Chronicle of Higher Education
In a nod to the ubiquity of electronic transactions, the U.S. Department of Education is proposing to reinterpret a privacy law that bars a college from releasing a student's transcripts and other personal data without the student's handwritten signature. Under the proposal, students could agree online to the release of their data.

Politicians pay visit to CEO of PeopleSoft, Contra Costa Times
The Rocky Mountain state has come to PeopleSoft Inc.

Debate: College admissions, USA Today
Critics claim that colleges, bowing to the rating gods, use early decision for selfish ends, with little or no regard for the student's interest. Are early decision policies good for college admissions?

Editorial: Maintain prison education, San Francisco Chronicle
The $99.1 billion spending plan signed by Gov. Gray Davis cuts practically every program and state government agency, a reflection of the lean times.

Peter Schrag: Feinstein, confusion and the ghosts of Florida 2000, Sacramento Bee
The California Supreme Court isn't likely to read the state constitution's ambiguous recall provisions in such a way as to declare that Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante would become governor if Gray Davis were recalled.

Editorial: Come on, already, Gray, Eureka Times-Standard
No matter how hard you hit them over the head with a particular uncomfortable truth, some people just don't get it.

Riordan: 'Goofy' or a Mr. Fixit?, Christian Science Monitor
Mr. Riordan, the former mayor of Los Angeles, is expected to formally announce his candidacy now that Arnold Schwarzenegger seems unlikely to run.

State high court faces Florida-like dilemma, San Francisco Chronicle
Justices' decisions could taint recall's eventual outcome.

Courtroom Challenges Stand in Recall Path, Los Angeles Times
The signatures have been gathered, the election set. But the drive to recall Gov. Gray Davis faces a last hurdle that could stop the proceedings cold: half a dozen legal challenges now wending through the courts.

Car fee may fuel recall, San Bernardino Sun
California Republicans are hoping public outrage over higher vehicle registration fees will help them oust Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat, and register more Republicans.