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UCLA has a big problem on its hands: it has too many graduate
student prospects, too many undergraduates and too little resources
and funding to keep up with them. And it can’t turn to the
state to bail it out because the state is too busy bailing out
itself.
Graduate student applications are streaming into UCLA at record
numbers. Engineering programs, for example, are seeing 66 percent
increases, while programs in management boast a 75 percent rise in
applications. So far, UCLA has 33 percent more applications overall
compared to last year. Many believe the unprecedented increase is
due to the struggling national economy leaving students with few
job options.
At first glance, the increase appears to be a godsend to UCLA,
which recently received notice from the UC Commission on the Growth
and Support of Graduate Education that the university needs more
talented graduate students to maintain its competitiveness with
other prestigious universities. But given its resources, UCLA will
only be able to accommodate a relatively small increase: only
100-200.
The larger application pool could provide UCLA with a healthy
pool to pick top graduate prospects, but the minor stretch room
won’t help the university bear the sting of its real problem:
the spiraling growth of its undergraduate population.
Currently, the number of undergraduates coming to the university
is increasing at a rate of 400 students per year. Within the next
decade, the UCLA student body is expected to increase by about
4,000 more students ““ every one of which will need more
graduate students to function as teaching assistants and student
graders for overcrowded classes.
As with any university, UCLA’s goal should be to sustain
the quality of its education at the highest levels possible.
Limiting the number of graduate students the university accepts to
coincide with the number it can reasonably handle protects it from
diluting its resources in trying to educate crowds of students.
With Gov. Gray Davis’ proposed budget constantly cutting
from different places every week ““ from the funds used to
grant a cost of living adjustment to the salaries of faculty and
staff, for example ““ the UC, and especially UCLA, need to
seriously consider setting enrollment caps on undergraduate
admissions now. UCLA has no place to grow ““ as the smallest
UC, it is surrounded by a large residential area to its northern
half and a business community to its south. If the UC is hesitant
about setting university-wide enrollment caps, the only feasible
alternative is for it to focus on expanding student growth at less
populated, larger campuses such as Riverside, Santa Cruz and
Merced.
If UCLA doesn’t cap enrollment soon, its students will
have to pay the price ““ literally.
Also included in Davis’ preliminary state budget is a
reduction in $17 million worth of financial aid across the UC; 95
percent of it will be taken from undergraduates. As the campus with
the largest student population, UCLA will take the biggest cut:
students on average will be denied about $490 each. Start looking
for a summer job ““ if there are any left. UCLA has some
reserve funds to help cushion the cut in financial aid, but with
more mouths to feed, the quantity of porridge each gets
decreases.
When voters checked off “Davis” on their ballot,
they thought they were selecting someone who prioritizes education.
If it is necessary to resort to measures such as increasing taxes,
Davis must do so ““ it doesn’t make sense to take money
away from financial aid funds, since they’re purportedly
going to people who need just that: financial aid.
It’s uncertain what will happen come July when Davis signs
the final budget ““ but one thing is certain: the UC must help
heal its own wounds if the state won’t.