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Detailed data tables are posted at www.ucop.edu/news/studstaff.html. Pamela Burnett, interim director of undergraduate admissions for the University of California, will be available via conference call at 1 p.m. to answer questions.Call-in information: Dial-in: 1 (866) 740-1260; access code: 2873301# |
A total of 39,989 admitted freshmen submitted Statements of Intent to Register (SIRs) for fall 2011, of whom 35,064, or 88 percent, are California residents. This represents a slight numeric increase compared with comparable data for last year, and indicates that demand for a UC education remains high, despite rising fees and concerns about the impacts of state budget cuts.
At the transfer level, UC received 20,062 SIRs from admitted students. Of these, 17,754, or 88 percent, are transfers from California community colleges.
Overall, the proportion of underrepresented students in the projected freshman class rose to 30 percent (up nearly 3 percentage points from last year), primarily due to increases in Chicano/Latino students. Among freshmen, Latinos are projected to constitute nearly 26 percent of the incoming class, the largest number and proportion in UC's history — almost equaling the proportion of SIRs from white students.
Pamela Burnett, UC's interim director of undergraduate admissions, said the increases in Latino students could be explained in part by the demographic changes in California, a state where more than 43 percent of high school graduates in 2011 were projected to be Latinos.
"Another reason for the increase is that Latino students are applying in higher numbers," Burnett said. "And more of them are well-prepared and competitive in the admissions process."
Universitywide, nonresidents represent a total of 13.9 percent of all current SIRs, as compared with 10.7 percent in fall 2010.
This increase is consistent with the UC Commission on the Future recommendation to increase and cap nonresidents at 10 percent of total undergraduate enrollment. Currently, less than 6 percent of UC undergraduates are nonresidents, far fewer than at comparable public research universities nationally. Even with modest increases among new students like that seen this year, UC expects to remain well under the 10 percent cap for the foreseeable future.
UC president Mark Yudof said the admission outcomes were in line with UC's enrollment goals, which called for maintaining California freshman enrollment at a stable level, despite the lack of state funding for more than 11,000 current students.
"Demand from highly qualified and diverse California residents is stronger than ever," Yudof said. "At the same time, several campuses have made progress in their goal to enroll a larger number of nonresident students."
Consistent with the California Master Plan for Higher Education, all UC-eligible California residents who were not admitted to any campus to which they applied were offered the opportunity to be admitted to UC Merced.
To increase efficiency and save resources, UC Merced used a slightly different admissions approach this year, contacting students in advance to determine their interest and sending formal admission offer letters only to those who indicated they wanted to enroll at the campus. This had the effect of reducing formal admission offers to the campus and increasing the percentage of admitted students who accepted their offer.
Overall, UC experienced a successful admissions cycle, during which undergraduate enrollment was not reduced and will remain stable compared with last year.
Nevertheless, UC will face a challenging admissions cycle for fall 2012 that will take place in the context of a $650 million state funding cut and the threat of further reductions if the state does not meet its revenue projections.
Decisions about future enrollment targets will be made by the central office in consultation with the Board of Regents in the next few months, as they discuss how to absorb the staggering state funding cuts.