Is the University of California Santa Barbara for Sale?

The University of California is about to send acceptance letters to the Class of 2020. Sadly, 10,000 students who will be graduating in the top 1/8th (12.5%) of their high school graduating class will be denied admission to a UC campus of their choice. Instead; they will be placed in a referral pool, and offered UC Merced as their only UC option. According to the LAO, 99.1% of the students placed in the referral pool to UC Merced choose not to enroll.

These are highly qualified students that deserve a seat at flagship schools like UCLA or UC Berkeley; as a matter of law, based solely on merit.

California residents are being denied equality of educational opportunity.

• Out-of-state, international and community college transfer students are all guaranteed admission to at least one campus of their choice.
• Out-of-state, international and community college students are admitted to a campus of their choice with much lower test scores and GPA’s.

California taxpayers should not be forced to pay taxes to support a public university system that they are denied access to. The University of California is a taxpayer funded public land grant institution, and as such, California residents are to be given priority enrollment.

California resident students who are denied an “appropriate admit” are then forced to attend an out-of-state college or a private college or university in order to get an "appropriate placement". Despite a scathing 2015 California State Audit, the UC Board of Regents has failed to force the University of California to comply with any of the auditors recommendations, allowing 10,000 California families each year to be financially damaged so that the University of California can profit from the sale of their seats to out-of-state and international students.

The University of California’s manipulation of the referral pool to UC Merced is a fraud upon California taxpayers, costing California families increased tuition expenses of an average of $40,000 per year ($160,000 over four years). No wonder California has a college admission scandal and exploding student loan debt.

Every qualified California resident student that is denied admission to a UC Campus of their choice should appeal that decision. If you are in the top 12.5% you are guaranteed admission to a UC Campus of your choice; as a matter of law, based solely on merit.

The University of California justifies the need to sell seats citing a lack of adequate revenue from the state, and the need to increase diversity on it’s campuses.

The state of California is enjoying record high revenues; $77 billion in increased revenues since 2007-08 ($55 billion of that is sitting in the State’s High Speed Rail account). The State has the money to fund a seat for every qualified California resident student, but the State of California is choosing not to honor it’s legal commitment to California resident students.

As to the need to increase diversity on UC campuses, 88% of the international students are from Asia and the Middle East. Of the 88%, 61% are from a single country- the People’s Republic of China. California taxpayers are being forced to subsidize the education of students from the People’s Republic of China, while California’s best and brightest are denied access. That is not “diversity”. That is a national security risk.

UC Santa Barbara Data:

Despite increasing enrollment at UC Santa Barbara by 348 seats since 2009, in 2019 UCSB denied admission to 728 highly qualified first-time freshmen. UCSB has reduced admits to California public high school students by 12% (480 seats) and California private high school students by 34% (165 seats) since 2009.

While denying admission to 728 highly qualified California resident students; in 2019 CUSB sold 1,299 seats to out-of-state (351 seats) and international students (948 seats) for a profit.

The University of Santa Barbara seems to be engaged in discriminatory, race based admissions practices because the students being denied seats are American Indian students (17), White students (739) and Other (108). Admission of all other ethnicities has increased.

Also taking seats from first time freshmen are community college transfer students. The University of California is now engaged in affirmative action guaranteeing admission to community college transfer students with much lower test scores and GPA’s. Since 2009, UCSB increased transfer enrollment of hispanic/latino students by 112% (1,735 seats), African American students by 97% (463 seats), Asian/Pacific Islander students by 31% (1,264 seats) and International enrollment by 58% (1,259 seats). At the same time they decreased enrollment of American Indian students by 7 and only increased enrollment for White students by 5% (29 seats).

The data shows that California taxpayers are being forced to pay for increased capacity within the UC system but all of that capacity is being used to educate greater numbers of foreign national students instead of California resident students.

The data shows that the University of California is no longer honoring the “Access Guarantee” of the University of California’s Master Plan for Higher Education.

Sources:
California Auditor Report Number: 2015-107 The University of California: Its Admissions and Financial Decisions Have Disadvantaged California Resident Students

California Legislative Analysis: The 2019-20 Budget: Higher Education Analysis

In April 2018 Janet Napolitano, President of the University of California and Eloy Ortiz Oakely, UC Regent and Chancellor of the California Community Colleges entered into an MOU to guarantee admission to community college transfer students to the University of California. Enhancing Student Transfer- A Memorandum of Understanding Between the California Community Colleges and the University of California

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