CAMPUS
In an effort to offer improved accommodations to transfer students, UC President Janet Napolitano announced Monday that the deadline for transfer students applying to UC campuses will be extended to Jan. 3, 2017 for most majors. Several extension programs and majors will only be available for applications filed during the priority consideration period that still holds with the original November application deadline. The full list of closed programs and majors will be posted on Dec. 1 on the admissions page of the UC website. The extended deadline is one of several steps taken by the UC Office of the President to reach the enrollment goal of one admitted transfer student per every two admitted freshmen.
The University of California, Santa Barbara is now ranked 24th out of 1,000 universities on the 2017 “U.S. News & World Report” list of best universities in the world. The comprehensive list, sampled from 65 different countries, ranked four fellow UC campuses in the top 20, with UC Berkeley at No. 4, UC Los Angeles at No. 10, UC San Diego at No. 15, and UC San Francisco at No. 16. Criteria for rankings were based on the frequency in which universities’ publications appeared in the top 10 percent most cited. Reputation, cross-department collaboration, and academic conferences were also taken into account.
The UC’s Open Enrollment period for UC faculty and staff to review their health continues through Nov. 22. Employees will see small increases in their monthly contributions to their medical premiums. Over 90 percent of UC employees will see increases of less than $10 a month. Also during this year’s Open Enrollment, all eligible employees may enroll in Voluntary Disability Insurance, which provides partial wage compensation for pregnancy leave or absence due to illness.
UC Santa Barbara soccer player Nick DePuy, a forward, is the first player to earn the title Big West Offensive Player of the Year three years in a row. The conference also awarded Kevin Feucht, a midfielder, Midfielder of the Year honors. Nine Gauchos have earned All-League status with the Big West’s 2016 Soccer All-Conference Team, according to a roster released Tuesday morning.
ISLA VISTA
Isla Vista — notorious for rowdy Halloween celebrations — celebrated Halloween quietly this year. This quiet Halloween weekend has followed the university’s and law enforcement’s unified efforts to keep Isla Vista safe and local. “The attendance this year … was significantly less than a typical weekend in Isla Vista,” said Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Kelly Hoover to local news outlet Noozhawk. This year, the department reported, “no crowd, 26 arrests, 46 citations, and 13 medical transports,” over the span of Friday through Monday. This starkly contrasts with reports from 2013, which state “crowds of 12,000 to 15,000 people, along with 225 arrests, 249 citations, and 51 medical transports.”
COUNTY
Santa Rosa Island, a popular tourist destination 33 miles off the coast of Goleta, was closed Thursday after park rangers found bundles of marijuana. The discovery of the bundles, believed to be part of a larger smuggler’s ring of contraband goods, also prompted the evacuation of three campers that same day. The 84 square mile island has encountered issues with contraband smuggling in the past, as “panga” boats have been found in January, March, and as recently as Oct. 23. Island Packers, the company that runs ferry trips to and from the island, cancelled all scheduled landings for the past weekend.
With the help of fellow local government agencies, the Santa Barbara County of Association of Governments is spearheading a study on possible solutions to traffic congestion in Goleta. For now, SBCAG is exploring the possibility of installing ramp meters, or red and green lights, at the beginning of certain Highway 101 on-ramps throughout Goleta. As discussed at a workshop on Thursday at the Goleta Valley Community Center, ramp meters are one of the few options to combat traffic congestion that don’t require modifying and expanding roadways through considerable construction.