The University of California has refused to release information about which of its administrators, faculty members, and other employees have benefited from low-interest home loans the 10-campus system has provided, according to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle.

The loans are used by the University of California, as well as by other colleges in the state and elsewhere, as one way to attract top employees. Data that the university did release showed that the system has almost 2,000 active home loans, totaling $702-million.

As of late last year, according to the newspaper, most of the university’s outstanding loans had been offered to employees at annual interest rates of 3 to 4 percent. But seven loans were made at rates of 2 percent or less, the newspaper said. For instance, one unidentified professor on the Berkeley campus received a $250,000 home loan at an annual interest rate of 0.5 percent, and a dean at Berkeley received a $203,500 loan at an annual rate of 1.28 percent.

The university refused to disclose the beneficiaries on privacy grounds, but that stance drew criticism from some state officials, especially since it came in the wake of damaging reports and audits that have revealed improper executive-compensation practices at the university (The Chronicle, May 19).