UC Regents are slated to discuss, among other things, the budget and university admissions and death benefits policies when they gather next week. The board is set to meet Jan. 14-15 at the UC San Francisco, Laurel Heights, campus.

Agenda items include:

• A report from UC vice president of budget Larry Hershman on the Governor's proposed budget and how it affects UC.

• An update from UC's Eligibility and Admissions Study Group, which has been looking at issues including those raised by regent chair John Moores. This fall Moores released a study showing some campuses admitted students with lower SAT scores, while denying admission to students with higher SATs. The validity of the SAT in predicting success in college has fallen into question in recent years. Former UC President Richard Atkinson spearheaded a comprehensive review process at UC. Currently, several factors in addition to SAT scores -- including high school grade point averages, financial or other obstacles overcome by a student -- are considered.

• A review of data on the effectiveness of the student transfer process, which allows students to attend one of the state's 108 community colleges for their lower division education and then transfer to UC to complete their bachelor's degrees. According to the UC Office of the President, in 2002-03, UC enrolled 12,780 new transfer students from California community colleges, the highest enrollment in the university's history. At the current rate of transfer growth, UC will surpass a projected 14,500 new community college transfer students in 2005-06.

• Consideration of amending the university death benefit program so that same sex and opposite sex domestic partners would be eligible for employees' death benefits in the same manner provided to spouses. In May 2002, the regents OK'd amending the UC retirement plan to include domestic partners. The proposed death benefits revision has the support of the Academic Senate.

• The possible amendment of UC's retirement plan to bring the benefits afforded to employees' adopted children on par with those currently afforded to employees' natural-born children.

• A report on faculty recruitment and retention issues facing the university.

• Discussion about rescinding a policy established in 1992 that limits to two consecutive one-year terms the time a regent may act as a committee chairman. The action has been proposed to streamline board meetings and standing committee meetings, which often deal with long-term, complex projects that would benefit from consistent leadership.

• Possible delegation of authority to President Robert Dynes to take steps necessary if the university were to compete for one or more national laboratory contracts. UC currently manages Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. The regents would make the ultimate decision at a later date whether to actually compete for lab contracts, based on the terms and conditions of the competition.

Live audio Internet broadcasts of the regents' open meetings are available. For details, see http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/.