Copyright© 2000 by School Services of California, Inc.
New Enrollment Policy for UC Will Impact Community
Colleges
The University of California President, Richard Atkinson, is proposing a new admissions policy that would enable students traditionally unable to enter the university to receive an opportunity for admission. The program would generate an estimated 1,500 to 3,500 new transfers to UC by 2005-06.
Currently, students have two routes into the University of California's nine campuses. Generally, UC admits the top 12 ½% of students from across the state in terms of their grades, college entrance exam scores and college preparatory course work. Recently, the university added a second route-the top 4% of graduates in every high school-to bring in students from schools serving more disadvantage communities who might not otherwise meet the 12 ½% statewide threshold for performance.
President Atkinson's proposal would add a third route, basically expanding the 4% approach by reaching deeper into the graduating rosters of every high school in the state. Atkinson's proposal is being viewed as a way to potentially diversify campuses with students that are now poorly represented in the University.
Impact on California Community Colleges
Students in this new tier between the 4% and 12 ½% marks would be encouraged to enter UC by spending their first two undergraduate years at a community colleges. These students would be guaranteed admission to UC as long as they met agreed-upon requirements along the way. UC would take an active role in reaching out to the students and shepherding them through their freshman and sophomore years in community colleges. Obviously, Atkinson's proposal will require a great deal of coordination and cooperation from the community college system.
In this post-affirmative action era, increasing the flow from California's community colleges to its four-year universities has been viewed as one of the best methods of providing higher education to low-income and minority students. The number of community college students transferring to a UC or California State University (CSU) campus has declined in recent years, a statewide phenomenon that education researchers believe threatens repeated pledges to increase access.
The California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) has released data that shows the number of community college students transferring to UC has dropped 7% since the 1993-94 school year. Community college transfers to CSU have declined 7.6% since 1995-96.
To become effective, the proposal must be approved by the UC Board of Admissions
and Relations with Schools, and the systemwide committee of faculty
representatives that sets eligibility requirements.
--Arnold Bray