Dive Brief:
- The University of California has announced a 15% jump in the number of in-state students admitted to the system, with particular growth in the number of Latino and black students.
- The Los Angeles Times reports the university admitted more out-of-state students, too, representing an almost 9% increase from last year, but while the admission rate of Californians rose to nearly 63% of applicants, out-of-staters were admitted only about 54% of the time.
- The preliminary numbers show admissions offers jumped from 87,759 students to 98,922, and the university will likely admit a larger increase in Californians than even the 5,000 students required based on last year’s deal with Gov. Jerry Brown for an extra $25 million is state funding.
Dive Insight:
The University of California has been responding to a state audit about its enrollment practices that drew harsh criticism from advocates of in-state students. The state Master Plan for Higher Education calls for admitting out-of-state students only if they are as qualified as the top 50% of in-state students. The university changed its policies, however, and the audit highlighted the fact that 29% of out-of-state students admitted in the last three years had GPAs and standardized test scores below the median of Californians.
Like other public universities, the UC has turned to out-of-state and international students to increase tuition revenue and ride out a period of inadequate state funding. In California, the number of nonresidents admitted to the system has tripled.