Rarely has the expression “put your money where your mouth is” been more appropriate.
On May 15, California state Senator Michael Rubio introduced Senate Constitutional Amendment 22, which would implement a 10 percent limit on out-of-state student enrollment at each of the 10 University of California campuses. If passed, the restriction would begin with the incoming class of 2013-14. In response, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau came out vehemently against the legislation, demanding a withdrawal of the amendment. We stand completely in line with our chancellor on Rubio’s bill.
Tuition from out-of-state students — which would include international students under the proposed amendment — provides much-needed revenue for a UC system crippled with budget cuts amidst California’s economic downturn. As such, placing a cap on nonresident enrollment would be not only hypocritical but downright unfair. The state government should not tell the UC to cap out-of-state enrollment while at the same time continuing to cut funding of higher education. Although the UC is considered a public university system, money from the state has dropped dramatically over the last few years and currently sits at about 11 percent of the UC system’s total revenue.
It does not make sense why Rubio and his cohorts are even trying to do this. Rubio claims that the amendment “ensures that California students get a fair shot” at enrolling in a UC school and should not be turned away because of an influx of wealthy out-of-state students. But all qualified Californians are already accepted, as the top 9 percent of eligible students in California high schools are admitted into the UC system.
California’s feeble 11 percent funding contribution is not a mandate for said legislation. Lawmakers in Sacramento lack the credibility necessary to tell each campus how to select its incoming students — campuses must retain some level of autonomy.
Instead, legislators should listen to the people who actually run things in the UC system, like Birgeneau. He understands the situation, hence the fact that UC Berkeley’s out-of-state enrollment is at 18 percent. UCLA’s is at 14 percent, while the system as a whole was at 8.4 percent as of fall 2011. In a letter to Rubio, Birgeneau declared that capping the rate at 10 percent for UC Berkeley “would do irreparable harm to Californians.”
Nonresident students want to come here. They join the UC system to receive an education and often stay in the state, becoming Californians in the process. Instead of trying to stop them, the state government should create an environment where everyone can afford a UC education. If not, then at least let UC campuses decide who to admit on their own.
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There is a lot of talk about out of state enrollment being needed for the money. The real value of out of state students is the students themselves. Intelligent students from around the US and the world give us things we don’t get with California students. We get the diversity that helps all of us to learn about our entire world. The real affect of Rubio’s legislation would be for Cal to fall down in the university rankings, because we will lose the student knowledge from the rest of the globe. Make the UC a Californians only university, and watch Cal become average.
In addition to losing talented students, I would expect Rubio’s legislation to affect the faculty. We have faculty from around the world. Our non-Californian faculty, which is probably a huge percentage of the faculty, would be less likely to stick around in an environment that doesn’t welcome non-Californians.
The state cut funding because conservative voters see three huge problems with UC: holistic admissions policies that ignore the achievements of gifted California students (SAT II scores) in highly competitive high schools, a dramatic increase of out of state students with a corresponding decrease of in-state students who are not minorities, and the use of public funds for illegal aliens (DREAM Act). Correcting all three issue above would cause conservatives to suddenly demand increased funding for UC because we want to win back jobs lost to Texas, India and China.
The legislature is mostly made up of non-conservatives. They cut funding because they don’t value public education as much as they value other projects. If the UC were to do some of the things you recommend, the legislature would probably cut our funding even more. A sad fact is that even during high revenue times the legislature has reduced UC funding per student. Appealing to conservatives isn’t going to work in this state, because they don’t have the pull to change anything. We are at the mercy of the very people who tell us they love public education, but their actions speak so much louder than words as you can see every time you write a tuition check to Cal.
Those students who apply to Cal with excellent scolastic records should be the first to be considered for admittance. Sports stars, kids of famous people, or just rich people should not be considered unless they can measure-up scholastically. Californians should come first and apparently they do, but all others shouldn’t have to pay more than they are already paying. After all, you can’t blame these young scholars for seeking an education at one of the greatest universities in the nation and they shouldn’t be derailed by higher admission fees. In any case, if it is not beyond the realm of possibiltiy, keep the self-serving, sleazy POLITICIANS out of it!
Maybe the bill should also include those who entered the US illegally. After all, they were also from out-of-state…