UC admissions plan denies eligible students
By Robert Salonga
Feb. 29, 2004 9:00 p.m.
High school students throughout the state will log on to the
Internet in the latter half of this month looking to see whether
they were accepted to a University of California campus.
For several years, the anxiety has stemmed from anticipation of
one of two outcomes: acceptance or rejection. But in light of an
announcement made last week by the UC, some of these students could
receive an unanticipated message: acceptance, but only after two
years at a community college.
Due to a proposal by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to reduce
freshman enrollment by 10 percent in 2004-2005, the UC system will
not be able to directly admit thousands of students who typically
qualify for a spot somewhere in the university. For the UC, this
leaves 3,200 graduating high school students with the option of
going somewhere else for college, or agreeing to complete courses
at a community college for a guaranteed spot at a UC for their
junior year. In the latter plan, students would not have to pay any
student fees for their terms in community college.
“The bottom line is that we are doing the best that we can
to accommodate as many UC-eligible students as we can,” said
Susan Wilbur, director of UC admissions, in a conference call on
Thursday.
The community college plan offered by the university parallels
an existing plan for students who fall in neither the top 12.5
percent of the state’s graduating high school students, nor
the top 4 percent of a student’s particular high school
““Â the two bases for UC eligibility.
But now the logic behind the “dual admissions plan,”
as it’s known, is being applied to students who would have
been otherwise eligible for the university if not for a recent cut
in the amount of state funding the UC expects to receive.
The system’s announcement to turn away eligible students
also marks a break from the Master Plan for Higher Education
““ a policy adopted by the state in 1960 that delegated the
education roles of the UC, California State University and
California Community College systems, and among other things,
enshrined the 12.5 percent eligibility index for the UC.
It is not yet clear whether the UC has broken its policy promise
under the master plan, as the UC has historically admitted students
in excess of the 12.5 percent stipulation to account for the fact
that not all admitted students choose to enroll in the university.
Figures detailing the UC’s adherence to the 12.5 percent
policy will be released in May.
But one regent said if anyone is breaking the master plan, that
liability falls on the state.
“The state for a couple years has broken its side of the
agreement, so the state has been breaking the master plan for a
number of years, and now they’re pushing to break it even
more by telling us they’re not going to fund
enrollment,” said Student Regent Matt Murray.
“We can’t do it all on our own,” he added.
“For the UC to say it can only take some students is sad but
reasonable.”
The UC Board of Regents had discussed the prospects of a
community college transfer plan during its January meeting in San
Francisco. Since then, administrators in the California Community
College system have said their current level of funding leaves them
ill-equipped to handle an influx of UC-eligible students in
addition to their current teaching load.
Martha Kanter, chancellor for the Foothill-De Anza Community
College District ““ one of the state’s largest ““
said in January that community colleges statewide had turned away
175,000 students last year.
Also at that meeting, UC President Robert Dynes expressed
uncertainty about how efficient such a transfer program would be,
even with the state’s proposed $1.6 million toward helping
the transfer process. He said though community colleges are cheaper
for the state to fund, students may just decide to attend college
elsewhere.
Dynes also noted the importance of a student’s first two
years at a UC campus in terms of the overall college
experience.
“How much are those first two years worth, and how much do
you save?” he said. “I haven’t determined that
yet.”
With reports from Charles Proctor, Bruin senior staff, and
Bruin wire services.
