Amid an outcry over large-scale rejections at top schools in the state, California lawmakers propose reducing the percentage of out-of-state freshmen from 19 percent to 10 percent over the next 10 years.
Under the proposal, beginning in 2022, the state senate will reduce the proportion of nonresident first-year students to make room for more local students. Schools with many out-of-state students such as UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UC San Diego expect to take the biggest hit from this policy.
“It’s not about ending out-of-state students,” said Senator John Laird, who discussed the plan with the Senate budget subcommittee on education this month. “We just have to make sure there’s enough space for in-state students.” The plan is expected to profit roughly 4,600 California students every year.
Reaction
With nonresident students surpassing the national average at some of the state’s universities, UC is pushing back, saying nonresident students continue to be a key funding source and reducing their percentage would slash revenue and impair a geographically broad student body.
“We understand and support the Legislature’s goal of providing more opportunities for Californians at UC, though we believe trying to achieve this through reducing nonresident students will potentially lead to unanticipated outcomes,” UC’s Office of the President told ABC 10News.
The proposal, however, comes as a relief for thousands of California’s tax-paying families, who hope to see their children secure a slot at UC universities.
“As a California taxpayer, I would expect and hope that the children of California residents have the opportunity to attend UC schools because right now the opportunity is taken away for a lot of these kids,” Weni Wilson, a San Marino parent, told LA Times.
If the proposal goes into effect, the percentage of out-of-state students would fall at universities like UCLA, Berkeley, San Diego, Irvine, Davis, and Santa Barbara but would increase at places like Santa Cruz, Riverside, and Merced.
The state will cover lost tuition from nonresidents beginning with $56 million next year and increasing to $775 million over the following 10 years.