Friday, September 28, 2001

Plan to increase diversity in UC system postponed
By Robert Salonga
Daily Bruin

LOS ANGELES (U-WIRE) — Plans to institute a program designed to increase the number of minority students in the University of California system have been put on hold until next year due to lack of funds.

The university has postponed the dual admissions plan, citing the state legislature’s failure to provide the UC’s request for $2.5 million before it went into recess last week.

“The legislative clock ran out on us at a time when the state is facing some very bleak budget choices,” said Michael Reese, assistant vice president of strategic communications for the UC Office of the President.

Because the state legislature is in recess, the UC cannot pursue funding for the program until it reconvenes in January.

According to the dual admissions plan, students in the top 4 to 12.5 percent of their high school class would be guaranteed UC admission, provided they complete two years at a community college. It would have taken effect for the class of fall 2003 and transfer students in 2005.

UC President Richard Atkinson had assured the regents at their July meeting, when they approved the plan, that he would not go forward with the program unless funding was secured.

Reese added that most of the requested $2.5 million would go toward hiring counselors for the program. This would ensure that students under the plan would stay on track for transfer to a UC, he said. Under the program, the university would provide one counselor for every three eligible community college campuses. Also planned was a Web-based tracking system that would allow students to monitor their progress themselves.

“The concern was that the program would be pointless to implement without the counselors,” said student regent Tracy Davis.