Following the pattern set by the last four years, community college transfers to UC campuses increased again this year, rising 7.6 percent from last year. The campuses admitted 14,665 students this year, of which, UCSD accounted for approximately 1,500. This number reflects the fact that eight out of every 10 transfer applicants were admitted to the campuses. However, 1,600 students applying to transfer for the winter quarter were not considered due to budget cuts.
This decision affected both community college students and recent high school graduates. UCSD was unaffected as it only accepted students with guaranteed transfers for winter quarter.
Despite the budget cuts, the fall increases are still seen as proof of a promising future for transfers by UC officials who hope to continue this trend through the coming years and meet the goals set by the original agreements through both old efforts and new ones, such as the Dual Admissions Program which will begin in fall 2004.
ìWe have a commitment to California community college transfer students,î said Mae Brown, assistant vice chancellor for admissions and enrollment services at UCSD.
ìWe have found that transfer students do well academically, and graduate with comparable graduation rates. They bring diverse backgrounds and experiences to the classrooms. We are very pleased with our efforts in this area and we hope they will continue.î
She attributes this growing trend to the memorandum of understanding made between President Atkinson and the chancellor of the California community colleges, which, according to her, ìencouraged an increase in the number of transfer students,î and to the subsequent partnership agreement which ìencouraged each campus to develop comprehensive transfer programs.î
The memorandum of understanding was set out in 1997 by the leaders of the two systems as a way to begin the growth. The partnership agreement was later set between the UC Regents and Governor Gray Davisí administration and includes specific goals and programs to achieve this increase. These goals include programs such as the Counselor Conferences and Ensuring Transfer Success Counseling Institutes, which help community college counselors find ways to help transfer students at the community college level.
According to Thurgood Marshall College, incoming transfer student Pierre Apostolides, these programs are not entirely effective.
ìI had to do everything by myself,î he said. ìThe counselors at my college were not helpful at all.î
Also available to students who do not have the resource of a good counselor are Web sites such as WWW.ASSIST.ORG, which provides information about how certain community college credits may be applied to UCs. There are also outreach programs run through individual UC campuses, which work to help encourage community college students to transfer and help them define their goals.
ìIt is the aggressive work of people at local UC campuses to target students at community colleges which is responsible for the rising numbers,î Brown said.
The attraction for community college students to transfer to a UC campus are varying, but among them is the prospective of continuing their education at well-known schools with good reputations.
ìThe UCs have a good reputation,î Apostolides said. ìI couldnít get into college after high school because I made some wrong choices, so I went to [community college]. I wanted to stay in California and I knew the UCs were all good schools.î
