Record Numbers of CA Students Did Not Get into a UC School

Broken Promises

Record Numbers of Highly Qualified California Students Are Not Being Admitted to the University of California

By Dawn Urbanek | urbanek@cox.net | The Equity Project|

Record numbers of High Achieving California students just found out they did not get into a UC School, or they received a referral to UC Merced as their only UC option.
Something is terribly wrong. Many of these students represent California's Top 12.5% of their High School graduating class; and are by law guaranteed an admission to an "appropriate" UC school.

The UC Master Plan Defines the UC's Obligations to California High School Graduates.

The University of California is a taxpayer funded educational institution that operates under a Master Plan that requires California residents to be given priority enrollment.

State law affirms the State’s commitment to fund all eligible California residents:

"The University of California and the California State University are expected to plan that adequate spaces are available to accommodate all California resident students who are eligible and likely to apply to attend an appropriate place within the system".

"The State of California likewise reaffirms its historic commitment to ensure that resources are provided to make this expansion possible, and shall commit resources to ensure that [eligible] students... are accommodated in a place within the system.” [CA Education Code 66202.5]

Unfortunately, a 2015 California Audit found that each year the UC was "selling" more and more seats to Out of State and International students in order to raise revenue. The UC claimed that this was necessary because the State was not providing adequate resources to the University.

The State was, and continues to be in violation of CA Education Code 66202.5.

The University of California continues to be in violation of their Master Plan Mandate to give California Residents priority enrollment.

Any California student that is in the Top 12.5% of their High School Graduating Class that did not receive an "Appropriate" admission to a UC Campus should Appeal the Universities decision based on the following information.

Nonresident Students are "Crowding Out" California Students.

Despite the Auditors recommendation that nonresident enrollment be capped at 5% that number continues to climb, and in 2018 reached a high of 24% of the University of California's total enrollment. Each year the University of California continues to deny more qualified California students a seat at the University. Those that are given an admit are not guaranteed a seat at a campus of their choice, they are in many cases placed in a referral pool and then offered an admit to UC Merced as their only University of California option.

The 2015 Audit stated that 98% of California students that referred to UC Merced decline to enroll.

The 2017 data in from the LAO said that 98.9% of California students that referred to UC Merced decline to enroll.

The problem is getting worse every year. That is why the example student with a 4.2 GPA and a 32 SAT is no longer being admitted into any campus except UC Merced.

It is time for the State of California and the University of California to keep its promise to California's students and taxpayers that have paid taxes for many years to fund a world class education for their children.

The State of California is enjoying record high revenues of $209 billion. That is up from $143 billion in 2007-08 (the great recession). The State's number one Constitutionally mandated spending priority is Public Education. California has $55 billion that is currently budgeted for High Speed Rail.

The State of California has sufficient revenue to provide a seat for every qualified California resident, but is "choosing" to fund other programs and entitlements that are not Constitutionally mandated, such as High Speed Rail.

California Budget: 2007-08 and 2019-20
California 5-year Infrastructure Plan

In 2018 the University of California "sold" 67,382 seats bringing in revenues of $5.206 billion. That is projected to increase to $5.269 billion in 2019 according to the LAO.

The 2019-20 Budget: Higher Education Analysis at page 35

"The increase in tuition and fee revenue is based on projected growth in nonresident enrollment coupled with a proposed increase in nonresident supplemental tuition. The Governor ties his proposed General Fund increase to UC not increasing resident tuition or the Student Services Fee in 2019-20"

This means that less California students will be admitted to a UC in 2019, but tuition for those that are admitted will not increase (an indication that the University of California does not intend to honor its promise to California's Class of 2020).

The University of California justifies the need to increase Out of State and International enrollment in order to increase "diversity".

Example of a Student who was denied a seat at a flagship school (UC Berkeley or a UCLA) but was referred to UC Merced as their only choice.

The example student applied to UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD and UC Santa Barbara.
This student was denied an admit to all four campuses, and was placed into a referral pool and offered UC Merced as their only UC option.

UC Merced is not an "appropriate placement" for a California student with this GPA and Test Score.

This student was accepted into highly competitive Private Universities and Out of State schools and therefore did not enroll into UC Merced. 10,000 other California residents were placed in the same position as a result of the UC's failure to give California residents enrollment priority.

Any student in this position should appeal the University of California's decision because the State of California has promised an "appropriate placement" to all qualified California residents in the top 12.5% of the State.

University of California Freshman Class Profiles:

There is a lack of "Diversity" that is resulting from Selling Seats to International students from Asia and the Middle East.

Total Nonresident International Student Enrollment
40,122 students
88% are from Asia and the Middle East
61% are from the People's Republic of China
27% are from other parts of Asia and the Middle East
The Rest of the World is represented by 12% of the University of California's total international enrollment.
This does not include students from Asia and the Middle East that are living in California and are considered "residents". This does not include undocumented students who are from Asia and the middle east that are living in the country and are considered "residents".
The University enrollment is not diverse and it no longer reflects the ethnicity of the population of the State of California.

The Auditor recommended limiting International and Out of State enrollment to 5% to that "highly qualified" California Residents would be guaranteed enrollment at the "appropriate" school of their choice as mandated by law.

2015 Audit of the UC at page 6

"Specifically, the Legislature should consider limiting the percentage of undergraduate nonresidents that the university can enroll each year. Between academic years 2005–06 and 2007–08— before the fiscal crisis—nonresidents comprised about 5 percent of the university’s new undergraduate enrollment. By academic year 2014–15, that percentage had climbed to more than 17 percent, which translated into more than 7,200 additional new nonresident undergraduates enrolled over a 5 percent limit. Implementing a 5 percent limit on new nonresident enrollment would allow the university to enroll an equivalent number of additional new resident undergraduate students per year—about 7,200—more than the number it enrolled in academic year 2014–15."

2015 Audit of the UC at page 7
"To ensure that the university meets its commitment to residents and to bring transparency and accountability to admission outcomes, the Legislature should consider excluding the students who the university places in the referral pool and who do not ultimately enroll at the referral campus when calculating the university’s Master Plan admission rate until the percentage of students who enroll through the referral process more closely aligns with the admission percentages of the other campuses.

2015 Audit of the UC at page 35

Financial Penalties to California Residents

When a qualified California Resident is denied an "appropriate" placement within the UC system, they are forced to accept enrollment in another selective 4-year College or University outside the UC system or attend Community College and try to transfer. Students that choose to attend a highly selective 4-year college outside the UC system are forced to pay extremely high tuition and fees compared to what they would have paid within the UC System.

University of California Tuition and Fees: $14,335 (Average Tuition and Fees)
2018 Tuition & Fees (varies among each campus)

A California Resident who is denied a seat will be spending much more in tuition and fees. Comparable Highly Selective Four Year Colleges Outside the UC System: $54,342 (average cost)

$156,400.00 - Financial Harm to the families (CA Taxpayers) of "Qualified" California Students that were denied a seat.
In addition to paying some of the highest taxes inn the nation, these California families are now being forced to pay increased educational expenses of $156,400 to get a comparable education outside the UC System.

The University of California has Unjustly Enriched Itself at the Expense of California Taxpayers

The University of California is a taxpayer funded, "Public University". California tax payers should not be subsidizing the education of Out of State and International students at the expense of their own children.

The Auditor recognized that the University of California was unjustly enriching itself at the expense of the California Taxpayers.

The Auditor indicated that adding an additional 10,000 seats to the University of California's capacity did not provide a legal remedy to California taxpayers that have been forced to spend an additional $156,000 in tuition and fees to ensure their child received a comparable education outside the UC system.

The University of California must comply with its Master Plan Mandate to provide priority enrollment to California Residents.

You can Appeal your University of California decision based on this "new" information.