Report: State auditor says UC Santa Cruz leaders altered survey responses

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ByMatt Keller KGO logo
Friday, May 19, 2017
Report: State auditor says UC Santa Cruz altered survey responses
School leaders at the University of Santa Cruz are accused of changing the answers on a school survey.

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KGO) -- School leaders at the University of Santa Cruz are accused of changing the answers on a school survey.

It appears, the changes made the UC president look better than the original answers.

A report revealed the office of the president inappropriately interfered with an audit.

This survey results were not supposed to be shared externally, but apparently that still happened.

According to our media partner, the Santa Cruz Sentinal, UC Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal knowingly altered the response to a state auditor's survey. This came after the office of the president asked campuses to send their survey responses to it for review before sending them to auditors.

The Santa Cruz Sentinal reports four of the campuses, UC Santa Cruz, Riverside, Irvine and San Diego, changed survey responses at the request of the office of the president to cast Janet Napolitano in a more positive light.

Here's what Santa Cruz Sentinal said happened: the original, 184-word survey response described an office of the president initiative as initially very poorly and inefficiently run.

The revised version eliminated all negative references and called the services and leadership of the office of the president crucial to the success of the UC system and a true public policy benefit.

ABC7 News is reaching out to UC Santa Cruz and the office of the president for a response.

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