Dive Brief:
- An audit by the California State Auditor concludes University of California admissions and financial decisions have disadvantaged resident students by admitting those from outside the state with lower qualifications than the state Master Plan dictates — and often to their first-choice campus.
- The San Francisco Chronicle reports the California Master Plan for Higher Education calls for out-of-state students to be at least as qualified as the top 50% of in-state admittees, and while the UC System put the admissions standards for both groups on par in 2011, legislators are already calling for a new bill in response to the audit.
- The University of California replied to the audit with a report of its own that aims to set the record straight on its commitment to in-state students, saying policies “overwhelmingly favor” California residents and the system has found space for all eligible in-state applicants, even without the state funding it says it needs.
Dive Insight:
The University of California System has been harshly criticized for spending too much on top administrator salaries, and the portion of out-of-state students it enrolls has been a topic of controversy for years. The state regents allow campuses that enroll out-of-state students to keep the additional tuition revenue for themselves, instead of pooling it across the system. Like in many public colleges and universities across the country, UC schools have increased the portion of out-of-state students in their classes to take advantage of the higher tuition revenue. Without adequate state funding, colleges have said they have no other options. The same is true for recruiting international students, who often pay full tuition.