C-plus

The public relations department at UCSD has long touted good news about the school’s purported academic standing, omitting the not-so-good. “The campus took the No. 18 spot in U.S. News and World Report’s first-ever global ranking of universities which measured factors such as research, global and regional reputation, international collaboration as well as number of highly-cited papers and doctorates awarded,” noted an October news release.

The minutes of the school’s October faculty senate meeting told a more nuanced story. “Compared to the other UC campuses, UC San Diego is on the low end of the four-year graduation rate at just under 60% of undergraduates graduating in four years,” chairman Gerry Boss, a professor of medicine, told the assembly. He added that there was “continuing pressure to reduce time to degree from the Governor and the State Legislature.”