UC
makes the grade for minority students UC
makes the grade for minority students
* System credits program for accepting top applicants regardless of SAT scores, outreach for increases; state natives' acceptance is up
Wednesday, April 4, 2001
By Carrie Sturrock Contra Costa TIMES STAFF WRITER
The percentage of minority students admitted to the University of California has nearly reached affirmative action levels, according to figures released Tuesday. In addition, the system admitted 10 percent more Californians than last year. Of the students the UC system admitted for the fall 2001 freshman class, 18.6 percent were African-American, Latino, Chicano and American Indian. That's a percentage point increase over last year and just shy of 1997's 18.8 percent, the last time the university used racial preferences in admissions.
UC officials believe outreach efforts and a new program that admitted the top 4 percent of each high school regardless of students' SAT scores may have played a role in the increase. Asians are not considered underrepresented because of their high numbers. Although admissions and enrollment figures tend to correspond, the makeup of the freshman class won't be known until classes start in the fall. "We're especially pleased with the high increase in underrepresented students who were admitted," said Dennis Galligani, associate vice president for the UC system student academic services.
"Certainly we'd like to believe the investment in our outreach efforts is paying off." Such increases in underrepresented minorities are not true of the university's most selective campuses. While UC Berkeley saw underrepresented minorities increase to nearly 16 percent of the total number of admitted freshmen, the percentage lags behind the 1997 level of 22 percent. Overall, the UC system admitted 46,130 students who are Californians, a 10 percent increase over last year.
Nine out of every 10 admitted freshmen are Californians. For the first time, the UC system admitted the top 4 percent of each high school in the state regardless of the students' SAT scores as long as they had taken the required courses. While the program appears to have increased applications 13.6 percent among underrepresented minorities at participating public high schools, UC officials haven't analyzed whether it impacted admissions increases. "I do believe the (program) is a piece of it," Galligani said.
"I don't think it's any one thing but a combination." In 1995, UC regents banned the practice of using racial preferences in college admissions. Voters outlawed it one year later when they approved Proposition 209. Since then, the university has initiated or proposed a number of programs aimed at diversifying its eight undergraduate campuses. It's beefed up outreach in low-income high schools. The UC faculty is reviewing a proposal that would admit from the top 4 percent up to the top 12.5 percent of each high school graduating class regardless of students' standardized test scores, provided they spend the first two years at a community college.
Most recently, UC President Richard Atkinson has proposed eliminating the SAT as an admissions requirement, which many believe has hindered black and Latino students who consistently score lower than their white and Asian counterparts. Some call it misguided to analyze the racial and ethnic breakdown of admitted students.
The focus should be on their academic qualifications, said UC Berkeley political science professor Jack Citrin. "We need to admit people for what they are, not who they are." UC Berkeley officials called their admissions data good news. The campus admitted 8,707 students, 4 percent more than it did last year.
Of that total, nearly 16 percent are underrepresented minorities. While the African-American percentage stayed the same at 3.6 percent, the percentage of Latino/Chicano students increased from 10.5 percent to 11.6 percent. More than 36,000 high school seniors filed applications. Approximately 24 percent of those who applied were admitted, with the aim of enrolling a fall freshman class of about 3,880 students. "This is a wonderful class," said Richard Black, assistant vice chancellor for admissions and enrollment. "We've selected it from the largest number of applicants ever."
Carrie Sturrock covers higher education. Reach her at 925-943-8155 or csturrock@cctimes.com.
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