Federal largesse is a real problem: Pell Grants are given out as part of the financial “aid” packages. So, the under-employed have a good reason to accept a substantial prize (no particular aptitude for study required), but are forced to borrow heavily as the precondition. Universities have learned to quickly raise tuition to the maximum level established by the federal government. 

Now, in California, religious institutions also get the Cal State University second-to-the-highest-level-of-funding (again, no particular aptitude for study required). Consequently, students at the 23 Cal State Universities overall get about one-tenth of the Cal Grants — while the “private and religious” colleges get about a third. 

What’s wrong with this picture? One: The structure of federal support. Two: The religious lobby. Three: Most egregiously, the up-front payment of students’ tuition to CEOs of for-profit, fly-by-night colleges.

Enter Pradeep Khosla. Students from three San Diego high schools will be eligible for a $40,000 scholarship to attend UCSD. Forty-five students are being offered Chancellor Scholarships, worth $10,000 per year for four years, but reserved for qualified school leavers from Gompers Preparatory Academy, The Preuss School located on the UCSD campus and Lincoln High School. Apparently, 16 contributors have agreed to write $25,000 checks annually to be used at the chancellor’s sole discretion. Khosla said the program shows his commitment to San Diego. He said he’d like to expand the pilot program promoting “diversity, equity and inclusion” (hip, hip, hurray) beyond these “partner” schools to reach more students from low-income families. To qualify for the scholarships, students at the three schools mentioned above must be eligible for the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan, which is available for UC families systemwide earning less than $80,000 annually.

Only a fraction of students accepted for admission ever enroll. As a former PTA President at San Diego High School, a substitute teacher at Preuss and as a long-term substitute teacher / dean of discipline at Gompers Jr. High — I can assure you that there is a 30- to 70-percent chance that the graduating VP at Lincoln will choose UCSD (over Dartmouth, SDSU or UCLA). 

UC systemwide continues to serve more low-income students than any other research university. But now the goal is to substantially increase the number of out-of-state and international undergraduate students, because students from out of state pay approximately $23,000 per year more in tuition and fees than California students (who pay about $15,000 a year). The academic year 2011–2012 marked the grim turning point. Under the 2011–2012 state budget, student tuition and fees for the first time in history contributed more to core operating funds at UC than the state general fund — nearly $3 billion through student tuition and fees versus $2.37 billion from the state. 

— Richard Thompson
Alumnus ’83