Earlier this month, the California Legislative Analyst’s
Office released a report suggesting the University of California
could meet its enrollment goals despite reduced funding, but the
report was based on outdated data.
The report said the UC probably admits more than the top 12.5
percent of high school graduates that the California Master Plan
for Higher Education sets as its goal.
Representatives for the UC Office of the President said the UC
may be over its goal, but they were unwilling to comment absolutely
because the report’s assertion was based on data from
1996.
The new report from the California Postsecondary Education
Commission ““ which will contain new data on the percentage of
high school students being admitted to the UC ““ will not be
released until spring.
The report also suggested that more eligible students could be
admitted in 2004 if eligibility requirements were shifted, but 2004
freshmen will receive their acceptances in March, so it is too late
to make changes that would affect them.
Anthony Simbol, senior fiscal and policy analyst for the LAO,
said the 1996 data was used only to provide historical analysis for
the report, which was the LAO’s annual February analysis for
the Legislature.
Simbol said the report could not wait until the new data comes
out in the spring because the Legislature is currently discussing
the budget.
The Master Plan allows the UC to admit 2 percent of its students
because they are particularly gifted in some way, such as in music
or athletics, even if they do not meet the eligibility
criteria.
The report said the UC has admitted as much as 6 percent of
these students and that by cutting down this percentage the
university could avoid turning away eligible students.
But Brad Hayward, a spokesman for the UCOP, said these numbers
are no longer correct.
“The Master Plan was amended, and it now allows for 6
percent, but we are under 2 percent now,” Hayward said.
David Longanecker, executive director for the Western Interstate
Commission for Higher Education, said the LAO’s
recommendations could have a strong influence on the
Legislature.
“The Legislative (Analyst’s) Office is a very highly
respected institution ““ maybe the most highly respected in
the country,” he said. “When they say something, you
have to pay attention.”
To currently be UC eligible, a student must graduate from high
school with a minimum grade point average of 2.8, take 15
UC-approved courses, and get a minimum score on the SATs that is
indexed to their GPA.
Alternately, students who are in the top 4 percent of their
graduating class and have taken the SATs and 15 approved courses
are also eligible.
Eligibility criteria is different from admissions requirements,
which are determined by individual campuses.
The LAO’s report also recommended that the Legislature
might want to take a greater role in determining how the top 12.5
percent of high school graduates should be calculated.
This move makes the UC uncomfortable because it means the
Legislature could encroach on the university’s autonomy.
Under the current system, the Academic Senate evaluates the data
from CPEC reports and proposes changes to the eligibility criteria
to the Board of Regents, which ultimately decides what changes
should be made.
“We have a good process right now for assessing the place
of the university in the case of the eligibility standards and
making necessary adjustments,” Hayward said.
“If we are not at the Master Plan standard, we will follow
the process we have used many times before to bring us back to that
standard,” he said.