Enrollment slightly more diverse

The incoming freshman class will be the largest and contain the highest numbers of underrepresented minorities in recent years, according to preliminary enrollment data released Monday.

A record-breaking 4,889 of the 12,579 admitted students submitted statements of intent to register this fall, up from 4,636 students last year.

The data for the incoming class also reveal significant gains in the numbers of underrepresented minorities.

The number of Native Americans, blacks, and Chicanos and Latinos with the intent to matriculate this fall has collectively risen to 21.7 percent of students submitting statements of intent to register, up from 19.5 percent last year.

The percentage of Chicano and Latino students intending to register has risen to 16.5 percent of the incoming class, up from 14.5 percent from last year, and 4.9 percent of students intending to register were black, a slight increase from 4.7 percent last year.

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Janina Montero said the numbers indicated a step in the right direction.

“It’s hard to be fully satisfied with the numbers. We have great discrepancies in a lot different groups, but I’m very happy that they’re moving in the right direction,” Montero said.

The number of matriculating black students seems to be leveling off in comparison to the doubling of the number of black students submitting statements of intent to register seen from 2006 to 2007.

The number of Native American students submitting statements of intent to register have also decreased to 13 from 14 students last year. The higher proportion of underrepresented minorities in the 2008 class seems to be driven primarily by an increase in Chicano and Latino students intending to register, a percentage that has risen for the past three years.

Bertha Guerrero, the external vice president of the Latino Greek Council, said she is supportive of the university’s efforts to diversify the student body.

“I think Campus Tours is great, and (the I’m Going to College) program does a lot of good, but we could still do more to reach out to Latino communities in Los Angeles and present UCLA as something that’s attainable for them,” said Guerrero, who said she knew very little about UCLA until she was accepted.

But the small increase in the numbers of matriculating black students is disappointing for many currently enrolled black students.

Pilar Whitaker, the vice chair of the Afrikan Student Union, said the increase, which equates to 23 students, is a trivial one.

“I don’t want people to look at that number and be super impressed. If you have an increased total of applications, obviously you’re going to get a few more black students in that mix,” Whitaker said.

After a record low number of 103 black students submitted statements of intent to register in 2006, the university overhauled the admissions process and created the UCLA African American Student Enrollment Task Force, headed by Peter Taylor, a former president of the UCLA Alumni Association.

Taylor said that, despite the small growth this year, he is satisfied with the results of the task force’s efforts.

“UCLA has a real commitment to the diversity of the campus. … Last year we had the highest number of enrolling African American freshmen of all the UCs,” Taylor said.

Taylor’s task force reached out to high schools to prepare prospective black students for the competitive admissions process by providing enrollment counseling, mentoring programs and incentives for admitted black students to matriculate to UCLA once accepted. Incoming black students are offered a privately funded scholarship of $1,000 and are courted at several alumni events.

“We’re very satisfied with our efforts; it’s a real testament to the various strategies that have been used,” said Taylor.

But Whitaker said she believes the university could be doing much more to attract black students by providing incentives such as more financial packages.

Aside from a smaller growth in the black student population, the admissions data indicate that the incoming freshman class has increased the diversity of admissions.

Nearly one-fourth of incoming freshmen come from low-income families, and almost one-third of them are the first in their families to go to college.

“I think it’s a great class … (but) a growth of 23 students is a very small number, and there’s quite bit of concern across the university. We want to be a welcoming environment for all students,” Montero said.

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