Word-of-mouth drew Meng Cui to UCLA, its basketball legends and reputation of high-level education. Raised in China, schooled in Singapore, the first-year math economics student did all of his own research before applying last fall.
“UCLA is famous in China,” Cui said.
But the university is no longer banking on reputation alone to motivate distant students like Cui to apply.
In an unprecedented effort to drive up the percentages of nonresident students ““ international freshmen, transfers and out-of-state freshmen ““ a recruiting campaign is underway.
For the first time, formal events are being held for prospective students in countries such as South Korea, Japan, China and Singapore.
UCLA is also joining forces with Stanford University and the California Institute of Technology for a 10-city recruiting tour within the U.S., said Tom Lifka, associate vice chancellor of student affairs.
The recruitment presentations, in cities from Seattle to Chicago to Honolulu, have pulled in crowds of prospective students and parents as large as 6,000. Then the larger group breaks down into a smaller focus group for each school. Stanford and Caltech had already partnered together and wanted to add a California public institution to the mix.
The plan is in its elementary stages, but models have projected enrollment numbers increasing from 9 percent to as much as 18 percent in the next ten years, said Bob Cox, manager of the UCLA Office of Analysis and Information Management.
Campus leadership decided two years ago to make nonresident enrollment a higher priority as state funding for California residents dried up.
UCLA admitted more than double the number of international students from last fall, according to the UC Office of the President. Out-of-state admissions remained about the same.
“We are doing some extra things this fall in terms of recruitment that may drive those numbers up a little higher for next fall,” said Lifka. “That’s what we’re hoping.”
UCLA is keeping its enrollment targets for California residents the same, while the target for nonresident students will increase. The changes mean an expanded undergraduate population in upcoming years.
UC officials cite philosophical and economic grounds for the new measures. Greater geographic diversity is valued at a campus that sees itself as a player in the global economy, Lifka said.
And of course, nonresidents pay $22,000 more than California residents to attend UCLA. With funding from the state evaporating, UCLA officials see the tuition revenue as a means of shoring up an ongoing budget crisis while maintaining quality.
UCLA is not alone in expanding its scope beyond California. The most dramatic increase in the UC system came from UC Berkeley, where admissions of out-of-state students jumped 10 percent during the last year.
Berkeley’s plan is to increase the percentage of nonresident undergraduates from 11 percent to 20 percent in the next four years, said UC Berkeley spokeswoman Janet Gilmore. Enrollment of California residents will decrease to match state funding levels at the Berkeley campus.
UCLA, by contrast, does not plan to reduce its targets for California enrollment.
“We are educating all the students that the state of California expects us to (educate) under formal budgeting numbers,” Cox said.
He added that UCLA is educating even more students than the state expects. Though the number is not definite, UCLA is over-enrolled by at least 750 students.
Tuition paid by nonresidents will offset the over-enrollment and help improve course offerings and add sections in overfilled classes.
The state stopped funding nonresident students entirely about two years ago, Cox said. Unless UCLA maintains a minimum number of nonresident students, the school will lose money.
“It became clear there was an opportunity to explore and see if there was (greater) demand for qualified nonresident students,” Cox said.
Evidenced by the spike in international student admissions, the demand does currently exist. Officials now want to make sure the momentum continues.
“We don’t know where the demand stops,” Cox said. “This business for out-of-state and international residents, it’s a whole new world for UCLA, not a world we know very much about.”