With its decision yesterday to cut 2009-10 freshman enrollment at the 10-campus University of California system by 2,300, the Board of Regents effectively paved the way for a massive setback to the mission statement of the century-old institution: ensuring accessibility for all qualified applicants.
While state budget cuts have already led the university to reduce programs this year and the board itself has readily admitted that the Legislature is unlikely to come up with any more cash to fund the university’s operations next year, leaving qualified applicants on the curb is a hard slap in the face for students who worked strenuously throughout high school to satisfy the university’s rigorous entry requirements. Even more disconcerting is the fact that the university has announced a record-size freshman applicant pool this year, which in turn will lead to an unprecedented amount of rejection letters.
Although the university has tried to distract critics of the decreased enrollment plan by saying there will be a spot for all qualified applicants somewhere within the system, in reality they plan on sending those applicants acceptance letters from UC Merced ‘mdash; a noble thought, but stinging in the fact that admission to UC Merced resembles a last-place finish in a nine-person race. Most applicants are hesitant about attending a campus that has such little notoriety, an issue that will ultimately lead students away from the UC system.
‘It is an excruciating decision to reduce opportunity for students in any way, but the lack of sufficient state funding leaves us no choice,’ UC President Mark G. Yudof said in a statement. ‘In future years, of course, we hope the state will be able to focus on investing in California’s human capital and provide the resources necessary for expanded opportunity in public higher education.’
Despite the policy’s approval, there are some bright spots on the otherwise dim horizon. Transfer applicants will see an enrollment increase of 500 admits, while the university has finally clamped down on skyrocketing executive salaries, enacting a much-needed and long-overdue salary freeze for chancellors, vice chancellors, medical center CEOs and other top officials.
UC Regent and Lt. Gov. John Garamendi ‘mdash; a candidate for governor in 2010 ‘mdash; has called the reforms a short-term fix and outspokenly demanded that more attention be devoted to higher-education issues. If Garamendi indeed plans on restoring confidence in California’s troubled university systems, he must immediately begin drafting plans aimed at reversing the enrollment alterations, pressuring the Legislature to prioritize higher education before seemingly more urgent matters and continue the practice of executive salary freezes until the system is healthy again. Otherwise, students will find it harder and harder to make their way into the failing system.