When members of the UCLA community call for an increase in
underrepresented minorities at UCLA, they may not need to look
outside the University of California for examples of campuses with
greater ““ or lesser ““ diversity.
The percentage of underrepresented minorities admitted to UCLA
for fall 2005 is in the middle when compared to the rest of the
University of California campuses.
Because UCLA and UC Berkeley accept fewer applicants than any of
the other UC campuses ““ excluding Merced, who kept their
enrollment low for their first class ““ the percentage of
underrepresented minorities admitted to UCLA for 2005 is actually
higher than at some campuses. But the raw numbers are fewer than
every campus besides Berkeley and Merced.
For the 2005 class of in-state admitted students, UCLA admitted
247 black students, 40 American Indians and 1,396 Latinos, which
compromises 16.5 percent of the total admitted California students
for next fall.
The campus with the highest underrepresented minority enrollment
is UC Riverside, with 26.8 percent, and the lowest is UC Davis,
with 15.3 percent. UC Berkeley and UCLA admitted the same
percentage.
According to the 2000 census, underrepresented minorities make
up 40.1 percent of California’s population and 55.2 percent
of Los Angeles county.
“Underrepresented students are more likely to be at high
schools that are underfunded and less academically rigorous,”
said Mitchell Chang, associate professor of education at UCLA.
“We’re more competitive. … The strongest
applicants in the country apply,” Chang said.
UCLA admitted 27.7 percent of California residents who
applied.
While students graduating in the top 4 percent of their high
school class are guaranteed admission to the University of
California, the rule does not necessarily place them in the most
competitive campuses.
A student is not guaranteed a place at his or her first-choice
campus, but every qualified student has been offered a spot, said
Susan Wilbur, director of undergraduate admissions for the UC, in
an April 19 conference call.
Future attempts to increase minority admission may lie in
community college programs.
There has been a recent focus on “having ways for
community college students who do well to transfer over,”
Chang said.
Transfer students comprise a higher percentage of
underrepresented minorities than do freshman admits, he added.
Chang said he does not believe the number of minorities admitted
was due to any failure in outreach programs.
Nicole Eisenberg, a graduate student researcher who evaluates
outreach programs, said the budget cut for UCLA’s program has
meant there has been a lot less happening with the programs in
recent years.