LOS ANGELES — University of California officials have proposed limiting nonresident enrollment to 20 percent of all undergraduate students in an effort to prioritize in-state applicants.
The proposal introduced Monday would be the first cap of its kind for the 10-campus public university system and will be considered by the UC Board of Regents starting next week.
Last year, lawmakers threatened to hold back $18.5 million if the UC system did not limit students from outside California. UC officials hope the restriction would be enough to get state officials to release the funds.
A state audit found that UC was hurting California students by admitting too many out-of-state applicants. Nonresident students numbered 34,673 in fall 2016 — 16.5 percent of the system’s 210,170 undergraduates.
UC spokeswoman Dianne Klein said the proposed policy balanced the needs of California residents with the benefits those outside students bring – diverse perspectives as well as millions in additional tuition revenue, which added up to nearly $550 million in 2016-17.
“The policy is very clear: Nonresident students will be in addition to and not in place of California residents,” Klein told the Los Angeles Times.
Shelly Tan, a Los Angeles area parent, said qualified California students should have the advantage. Her own daughter was turned down by her top three UC choices two years ago – despite SAT scores and a grade point average above the 90th percentile – and ended up at a fourth UC campus.
