UC Accepts More Transfer Students

At the start of his second semester at community college, incoming UC Berkeley transfer student David Barrera approached the transfer center on his campus with the goal of eventually attending a UC campus.

In the next two years, he took steps to fulfill his major requirements and complete the honors program at his community college while working on the side to save up enough money to afford the UC system's tuition rates.

Now, Barrera is one of 19,607 transfer students in total accepted to a UC campus for the upcoming fall semester-a record high in the history of the university.

Final enrollment figures for transfer students will be available in the fall.

While the university witnessed a drop in incoming freshmen who accepted their admissions offers for the fall, the number of transfer students admitted rose by 12 percent, UC officials announced Tuesday.

This jump reflects both an increase in transfer applications and a resolution by the UC Board of Regents in January to up the number of community college transfers by 500 students.

At a time when some are calling the university's accessibility into question, this emphasis on the transfer route reflects the university's commitment to inclusiveness, said Susan Wilbur, systemwide director of undergraduate admissions.

"The university is being responsive to their obligations under the Master Plan and sensitive to the fact that many students start their education at a community college," Wilbur said.

In line with the university's goal to cap freshman enrollment by 2,300 students this year, 36,481 freshmen submitted statements of intent to register-compared to 39,212 last year.

Despite the increase in transfer students, transferring to UC Berkeley was more competitive this year, with the campus accepting the lowest percentage of applicants in the system.

Eva Rivas, director of UC Berkeley's Transfer, Re-entry, and Student Parent Center, said her center strives to connect prospective transfer students with resources, programs and current students on campus.

However, with Chancellor Robert Birgeneau recently announcing an approximately 20 percent cut to all campus units in light of the governor's May revisions to the state budget, the future of the center may be at risk.

"We know that we have to provide a certain level of services to transfer students-but what that's going to look like in the fall, we don't know," she said. "This is just a very critical, uncertain time."

Senior Marissa Williams, who transferred to Berkeley last year after dropping out of high school and attending community college for two years, said the center greatly eased her transition to UC Berkeley.

"The transfer center at Cal is amazing ... they help you meet people in similar circumstances and get to know the school before you even get there," she said.

In her first semester, Williams took one of the transfer courses provided through the center, which she said helped make her more aware of resources available to her on campus. But according to Wilbur, those courses could be on the chopping block if the budget crisis worsens.

Barrera said that although the transfer process went smoothly for him, he would like to see more community college programs geared toward getting students into campuses like UC Berkeley.

"There is a transfer culture, but we definitely need more resources-and more representation from Berkeley," he said.

Tags: STATEMENT OF INTENT TO REGISTER