UCLA released its final fall enrollment data Tuesday, finalizing
figures that have drawn attention nationwide since they were
released in May.
Though a preliminary report indicated that 95 black freshmen had
submitted statements of intent to register, or SIRs, at UCLA, the
final count for black students was 103. Of those students, 100
matriculated. Black students were the only underrepresented
minority group with an increase in SIR numbers.
As of press time, university officials were not available to
comment on the latest admissions figures due to time
constraints.
The number of Latino students who submitted SIRs declined
between the preliminary and final reports, from 147 to 143.
According to UCLA’s admissions Web site, students must submit
their SIR by May 1, 2007.
However, students who are rejected from the university can
appeal the decision. About 7.2 percent of students who appealed
their rejections for fall 2005 had their decisions reversed. This
rate has held fairly constant since at least 2003.
At a rally for higher rates of minority admission in May, Vice
Chancellor for Student Affairs Janina Montero said she had been
presented with at least 110 appeal letters from minorities who had
been denied admission for fall 2006.
Some of these appeals may have caused the boost in the number of
black students enrolled, but university officials were not
available for comment.
Since the preliminary report was released, the low numbers of
underrepresented minorities admitted to the university has been
widely criticized.
University officials have repeatedly said there is not much they
can do to directly boost the number of underrepresented minority
students admitted to UCLA since they are constrained by California
law.
In 1996, voters passed Proposition 209, which prohibits
California public colleges and universities from considering race
or ethnicity in their admissions decisions.
“It would be unlawful to establish or endorse a specific
target for the admission of students from any specific group or
community,” university spokesman Lawrence Lokman recently
told the Los Angeles Times.
But university officials said the latest figures show some
positive change for minority admissions.
Even as the number of admitted black freshmen fell, the number
of admitted black transfer students rose. For fall 2006, 162 black
transfer students were admitted, up from 130 in fall 2005.