Guaranteed UCLA admission sounds impossible.

California’s latest budget proposal would establish exactly that.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan requires UCLA to participate in the University of California transfer admission guarantee program for the university to receive at least some of its usual state funding.

TAG offers California community college students admission to a participating UC of their choice if they meet GPA, course and major requirements. Every UC besides UCLA, UC Berkeley and UC San Diego currently participates in TAG.

The most applied-to university in the U.S. rejected more than 80,000 California residents who applied for freshman admission in 2022. It is only fair to open a guaranteed pathway for California students who prove in community college that they can meet UCLA’s standards.

UCLA must acknowledge and support the budget proposal and join TAG without delay if it really values California community college students.

Academic standards for transfer admission are already very high: Successful applicants have a 3.9 median college GPA. More than 90% of UCLA’s transfer admissions already come from California community colleges.

And adopting TAG may not impact the number of transfer students UCLA enrolls.

To recap, under the current transfer system, UCLA requires high academic performance in publicized categories, admits mostly California community college applicants and enrolls about 3,500 transfers each fall.

Under the proposed TAG guidelines, UCLA would still require high academic performance in publicized categories, admit mostly California community college applicants and enroll about 3,500 transfers each fall. No increase in overcrowding on campus is required.

From UCLA’s perspective, employing TAG doesn’t change much. The diverse California community college applicant pool comprises most of the state’s talented transfer class regardless.

But from an applicant’s perspective, “probably” and “definitely” could not be further apart.

UCLA might draw on a very similar group of applicants whether or not it adopts TAG quickly, but it should not underestimate the confidence and sense of achievement a guarantee can bring to students who are going through the stressful transfer process while managing a difficult college course load.

Adopting TAG would empower California community college transfers by informing them exactly what UCLA requires from them for admission. No guessing or ambiguity, just a high qualifying standard to reach, like many transfers have done before.

If the university claims later that offering TAG would increase enrollment too much, it paid $80 million in September for two sites in Rancho Palos Verdes and San Pedro to preclude that excuse.

The editorial board criticized UCLA’s expansion as ignoring more pressing issues like academic worker strikes. Still, UCLA could use these properties in numerous ways, perhaps taking note of Emory Univerity’s multi-site approach and offering an optional small community experience to first- and second-years while freeing up more of Westwood’s campus for transfer students and others in upper-division courses.

Regardless of the budget allocations that depend on it, providing a better experience for transfer students is in the interests of the university as well as the hardworking students who are directly impacted. UCLA should implement TAG as soon as possible.

California transfer students face plenty of challenges and jump through enough hoops. UCLA, give them an opportunity they can count on. Offer the TAG they deserve.