After the University of California stopped requiring the SAT, some professors say students are coming in with weak math and writing skills.
Higher Ed
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
UCSC Chancellor Larive: We are doing our part to build more housing
UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Cynthia Larive writes that the university is taking community and student concerns about housing and traffic seriously and outlines UCSC’s efforts to address both persistent community concerns. She highlights new and planned projects that she says will increase student housing by more than 40% within a decade, including a two-year housing guarantee for incoming students. Larive also writes that campus vehicle trips are lower than they were 20 years ago, despite enrollment growth, and says UCSC will continue taking responsibility for its impact on the broader Santa Cruz community.
Posted inEducation
California colleges don’t have enough housing for students. Will these four new laws help?
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a package of bills to reduce barriers and incentivize building affordable student housing in California. He has also signed a bill giving on-campus housing priority to students experiencing homelessness or who have been in foster care.
Posted inEducation
What does UC Santa Cruz have in common with the rest of the UC? A new book explores the system’s complicated history
What makes UC Santa Cruz different from the University of California’s nine other campuses? Journalist Miriam Pawel’s new book, “California Dreams,” traces the UC system’s tumultuous history — and explores how UCSC’s distinctive identity emerged from a vision that quickly collided with the upheavals of the 1960s.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Abortion pills to be offered at California community college health centers under new law
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law requiring California community colleges with health centers to provide access to abortion medication starting in 2029. A previous law already requires public universities in California to offer abortion pills.
Posted inEducation
For students with disabilities, UC Santa Cruz campus can prove punishing to navigate
UC Santa Cruz, built in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, has longstanding accessibility challenges for students with disabilities.
Posted inEducation
UC Santa Cruz welcomes 6,300 new students as 2026-27 school year begins Thursday
UC Santa Cruz welcomes about 6,300 new undergraduate and graduate students this week as the university begins another academic year with total enrollment expected to remain around 20,000. The new school year also brings expanding student housing, including a new two-year housing guarantee for incoming undergraduates.
Posted inEducation
‘I felt like I reset my life’: More Santa Cruz County adults returning to school for a second chance
The Santa Cruz County Office of Education’s free Career Advancement Charter has seen enrollment grow 332% since 2021 as more adults return to school to earn high school diplomas and pursue new career goals. For graduates like Yumi Mondragon and Rebeca Reyes, the program’s flexibility and support have helped them overcome past barriers and continue their education.
Posted inEducation
California community colleges can offer up to 12 new bachelor’s degrees under laws Newsom signed
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two laws that determine when community colleges can create bachelor’s degrees and how many they can offer.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
470 empty seats make some noise: What’s next for Cabrillo’s original theater?
Two weeks after Lookout asked whether Cabrillo College’s long-shuttered theater could have a second act, nearly 99% of 178 survey respondents said yes. Now a group of longtime Cabrillo artists and educators is exploring what it would take to bring the 470-seat theater back to life, while the college says it welcomes conversations about revitalizing the space.
