Arizona State University has been opening campuses outside of its home state of Arizona, including one in downtown Los Angeles in August 2021.

The new ASU campus, named the ASU California Center, is located at the renovated site of the former headquarters of the defunct Herald Examiner, said ASU spokesperson Katie Paquet. Paquet said that in the past semester, 125 students were enrolled in LA-based courses and programs, with 79 enrolled in ASU Local – a hybrid and in-person undergraduate program offered by ASU – and the rest enrolled in programs in other schools located at ASU California Center.

Paquet added that there are more California residents seeking higher education than seats at existing in-state universities and colleges.

ASU is currently using remote programs to serve those California students that cannot be offered spots at other California institutions, Paquet said. She added ASU believes that the use of technology can create more educational opportunities.

Among other forms of technology, Paquet said that ASU has also been using Dreamscape Learn, which uses virtual reality to teach biology classes. The program has received high engagement from students, she said.

In the past year, UCLA has seen the most applications out of any four-year university in the nation. In fall 2022, UCLA received nearly 150,000 applications from prospective incoming freshmen alone, according to UCLA Newsroom.

UCLA spokesperson Ricardo Vazquez added that with the tremendous interest from students across California, UCLA has plans to enroll more California undergraduates in future academic years. UCLA is in discussions regarding the matter with the UC Office of the President and is committed to the expansion plan that UC President Drake has proposed, Vazquez said.

Across the state, other UC campuses are also seeing applications at record high levels, said Stett Holbrook, a UCOP spokesperson. Holbrook said that the UC is similarly working to provide educational opportunities for more California students.

In addition, Vazquez said that UCLA has other ideas that will also allow for more college students to attend in the future.

“UCLA is also working on creating more capacity for additional students by, among other things, continuing to improve graduation rates and accelerate graduation times through increased summer enrollment and other efforts,” Vazquez said in an emailed statement. “UCLA also plans to add more faculty, and is exploring the possibility of increasing remote education options.”

Vazquez added that UCLA’s enrollment plans will not be affected by the ASU LA campus.

Paquet said that ASU itself does not aim to stand in the way of UCLA’s plans, viewing themselves as a complement to the existing options.

Although currently the new ASU campus does not have any arrangements to collaborate with UCLA or other UCs in their educational programs, Paquet said that ASU has expressed interest in the idea.

“ASU is always open to collaborations,” Paquet said in an emailed statement. “We believe no one institution or system can tackle all of the problems there are to solve – from expanding educational opportunities to tackling major research issues – there is power in numbers and leveraging the strengths of every entity to move society forward.”