Wednesday, January 14, 2009

UCs To Accept Fewer Freshmen Next Year

This is not what many of my students want to hear:

High school seniors hoping to attend the University of California next year could get more grim news by the end of today.

During a special meeting by teleconference this afternoon, UC regents will consider a proposal to cut the number of freshmen the university will accept next year. They're looking at admitting 2,300 fewer freshmen for the fall of 2009, compared with fall 2008.

Coupled with preliminary numbers that show more students than ever have applied to attend UC in the fall, the plan means it's getting harder and harder for high school students to get in to California's most prestigious public colleges.


Say it with me: budget cuts.
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5 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:39 AM

    Maybe I'm wrong, but doesn't it seem like if you admit more students, then your revenue stream will increase? They have to pay tuition and fees, don't they? Cutting students would decrease revenue, perpetuating the problem. Am I wrong?

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  2. Darren8:55 AM

    Maybe they're going to reduce instructional staff as well.

    Hahaha, sometimes I slay myself.

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  3. Anonymous9:24 AM

    The "problem" with UC funding is that the state subsidizes each student fairly heavily. It costs the university more to educate a student than the university charges for tuition.

    Cutting the number of students w/o cutting overhead will make things worse, but my guess is that the plan here is to freeze hiring, possibly lay off non-tenured staff (e.g. lecturers) and because of this, cut classes. Because of the cut classes, they are going to admit fewer students.

    Now for *my* suggestion: How about if we require all the incoming freshman who need to take one or more remedial classes (e.g. bonehead English) to instead go to a junior college for the first year or two? This could save a *ton* of money if we cut back the UC and Cal State faculty to match.

    -Mark Roulo

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  4. Darren3:14 PM

    There shouldn't *be* remedial math and English at a university. That's what junior colleges are for. Some probably see such courses as money makers, though.

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  5. Anonymous5:56 PM

    "There shouldn't *be* remedial math and English at a university."

    Well, yeah :-)

    And 50% of the CSU freshmen need to take at least one remedial math or English class. Sigh!

    -Mark R.

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