UC applications up; that's both good news and bad news
Good and bad news for a statewide university system that hasn't seen many positive developments in the past couple of years: Admissions at the 10-campus University of California have hit record numbers for the coming academic year.
And students from the southern San Joaquin Valley are leading the way.
The UC system announced Thursday that the number of students applying for undergraduate admissions for fall 2010 grew by 5.9 percent to more than 134,000. And applications from Kern, Tulare, Fresno and Inyo counties increased an astonishing 15.3 percent, second only to Riverside/San Bernardino among the 11 regions of the state surveyed. The southern valley's totals included a 10.7 percent increase in freshman applications and a 43 percent increase in California community college transfers.
More encouraging news for San Joaquin Valley higher education: UC Merced, the newest UC campus in the state and the only one based in the Central Valley, led the way statewide with a 21 percent jump.
But with the possibility of enrollment cuts brewing, the record number of applications could have a downside: a record-setting number of rejections.
And that could have a discouraging effect on economic recovery, as ten of thousands of students with limited options weigh a return to an already battered work force -- presumably at lower pay than their UC educations would have helped them achieve.
The UC system has already cut enrollment of California-resident freshmen by 6 percent -- about 2,300 students -- to cover budget shortfalls. And UC officials are discussing a comparable reduction for fall 2010, though a final decision has not been made.
UC officials are hoping Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed budget -- which includes better-than-anticipated funding for the system -- comes to fruition. That would offer some hope that the UC could scale back some of those enrollment reductions. But given the degree to which Schwarzenegger's budget relies on sleight-of-hand, federal largess and a no-new-taxes stance, that doesn't seem especially hopeful.
So the good news, once again: New and continuing college students continue to see the benefits of higher education, and a University of California education is particular. And the bad news: The level of competition at UC campuses will be rigorous this year, with no relief in sight as long as the state Legislature continues to fight and flail.
For now, we'll comfort ourselves with the fact that the southern valley, one of poorest and least educated corners of California, has produced a crop of students who at least aspire to a university education.
Especially heartening is the southern San Joaquin Valley's percentage of community college transfers, whose 43 percent increase over last year is about two-and-a-half times the statewide percentage increase. We've got students who want to learn, get their diplomas, and help California build a stronger, better economy. It's up to the University of California and its sister institution, the California State University system, to serve them -- but it won't happen without a commitment from the state Legislature, and by extension the people of California.
