Policy Issues

• Why is the University proposing this program?

For three reasons. With the advent of "Tidal Wave II" -- the demographic bulge of K-12 students now preparing to enter California higher education – greater pressure will be placed on both UC and CSU to better utilize the Community College transfer process in order to accommodate projected growth in enrollment demand. The proposed Dual Admissions program is designed to strengthen UC’s relations with the California Community Colleges and, in turn, to improve the academic preparation of students transferring to UC from community colleges. UC has accepted the goal, established in the State’s new Partnership Agreement with the University, to increase by approximately 50% the number of community college transfers by 2005-06, and the proposed Dual Admissions plan provides a concrete means for achieving that goal.

Second, the proposed plan is intended to promote the California Master Plan’s goal of expanding the number of high school graduates who go on to earn baccalaureate degrees. Although California compares favorably with most other states in the proportion of its students who enroll in higher education, it ranks near the bottom in the proportion who actually complete B.A. degrees. The Dual Admissions plan will help to address this problem.

Finally, the proposed plan would send a clear signal to high-achieving students in low-performing schools that they have a straightforward path to a UC degree. Recent reform efforts in K-12 made painfully evident that there are substantial disparities across California high schools in the quality of education they provide students. Like the top 4%/Eligibility in the Local Context program adopted by the Regents last year, the proposed Dual Admissions program is intended to identify high-achieving students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds and provide a clear path by which they can enter and succeed at UC.

• How large is the pool of students who would be eligible for admissions under the Dual Admissions plan? Won’t these additional students increase UC’s eligibility pool beyond the 12.5% level prescribed by the Master Plan?

Our preliminary simulations indicate that approximately 10,300 to 12,700 students would be eligible for admission under the proposed Dual Admissions plan. This represents the pool of students who rank between the top 4% and 12.5% of their high school, but who are not eligible for freshman admission either under UC statewide eligibility criteria nor under the new top 4%-by-school plan (Eligibility in the Local Context).

Because Dual Admissions students would enter the University as upper-division transfers, the Dual Admissions plan does not change freshman eligibility criteria and so maintains the Master Plan requirement that UC recruit its freshman class from among the top one-eighth, or 12.5%, of California public high school graduates.

• Of the pool of students eligible for Dual Admissions, how many could be expected to enroll at UC? Does UC have the capacity to accommodate this additional enrollment demand?

Preliminary estimates suggest that the Dual Admissions plan would yield between 1,500 and 3,500 additional transfer enrollments by 2005-06. These estimates are based on incomplete data, and should be reviewed with caution. The estimates assume that students in this pool will continue to exercise other enrollment options available to them, including enrollment at CSU and other higher education institutions.

If initial estimates are correct, this additional enrollment demand could be accommodated within the transfer goals established under the State’s new Partnership Agreement with UC. That agreement requires that the University increase by approximately 50% the number of CCC transfers to UC by the year 2005-06, from 10,100 to 15,300. The 1,500 to 3,500 new transfers projected for the Dual Admissions program will assist UC in meeting its Partnership goal of 5,200 additional transfers, with the remaining growth coming from the traditional transfer population. The program therefore creates no new capacity needs beyond those for which the University is already planning.

We anticipate that the new Cal Grant entitlement program will help alleviate concerns that Dual Admits may have about the cost of transferring to UC. The Dual Admissions plan provides a targeted group of community college students to whom financial aid counseling can be directed. The counseling will emphasize the role of grant assistance in enabling students to attend full time and the necessity of applying for their Cal Grant entitlement as part of an overall education financing plan. Given the expanded opportunities of community college students to apply for and receive a Cal Grant award, low-income Dual Admits should be able to obtain a Cal Grant (and, as an added benefit, A Pell Grant) while they are still in a community college. Since both a Cal Grant and a Pell Grant are portable and the value of a Cal Grant increases when the student transfers, Dual Admits will be able to realize a "Baccalaureate Financial Aid Package." In fact, if they are low income and thus have received a Cal Grant B award, their combined Cal and Pell Grant after transferring to UC will amount to nearly $8,300, which is more than the average scholarship/grant assistance of about $6,900 received by current low-income UC undergraduates.

In addition, the Cal Grant entitlement program likely will stimulate more full time attendance by community college students. Full time enrollment will benefit the Dual Admissions program specifically, and baccalaureate degree completion in general.

• What additional UC outreach programs to community college students may be needed to make this plan work?

In order for the Dual Admission Plan to be successful, it should be built around a foundation of academic and personal support for students, in a network jointly maintained by community colleges and the University. Students will need academic resources for preparation, in the form of:

• A full array of community college courses to prepare for intended majors;
• Articulation of UC majors with all community colleges participating in the program;
• Access to UC libraries
• An assigned adviser affiliated with the program to link the community college with a UC campus;
• Opportunity to participate in UC campus tours, visits, workshops, and cultural events;
• Assured housing during students’ first year at the UC campus where they are admitted upon transfer;
• A financial aid package previewed at an early stage in order that concerns about affordability are addressed; and
• A database (Gateways), jointly held by the University with community colleges, for tracking individual student progress and evaluating the program.

The success of this program will, of course, also rest very heavily on community colleges to assist students that choose to attend their institutions under this proposal.

Will any students be displaced by the Dual Admissions plan? Even if there is no displacement across the UC system as a whole, might not there be displacement effects at more selective UC campuses?

All eligible California residents who apply will continue to be offered admission within the UC system, and no students who are currently eligible for admission either as freshmen or transfers will be made ineligible as a result of this plan. Dual Admissions applicants will need to compete for admission within selective campuses and programs. Methods for evaluating and comparing applicants who are eligible by different programs will need to be designed in order for selective campuses to conduct fair and comprehensive admissions decisions.

• What is the demographic composition of the potential Dual Admissions pool?

Preliminary simulations indicate that about 34% to 36% of the potential pool of students eligible for Dual Admissions are underrepresented minorities – Latinos, African Americans and Native Americans – although Whites and Asians account for the majority of the pool. The Dual Admissions pool is considerably more diverse than either the current UC freshman eligibility pool (approximately 12% underrepresented minority) or the current pool of students transferring to UC from the California Community Colleges (18% underrepresented minority). The proposal should also benefit lower-income and rural students. Additional simulations to assess the geographic and socioeconomic composition of this group are in progress.

• Does this proposal conform to Proposition 209 and Regents’ resolution SP-1?

Yes. The proposal is an expansion of the current 4% by high school (Eligibility in the Local Context) path to eligibility. Race, ethnicity, and gender are not utilized in the admissions process.

Initial simulation data indicates that the average high school GPA (HSGPA) for students in the Dual Admissions pool is 3.60, which is above the current minimum HSGPA requirement for UC freshman admissions. Students in this HSGPA range should be capable of taking advantage of the Community College transfer process to enhance their academic preparation and to enter and succeed at UC.

Technical/Implementation Issues

• Will Dual Admissions students be admitted to specific UC campuses, or will they only be guaranteed admission somewhere in the UC system, and not necessarily at their campus of first choice?

As with current freshman admissions at UC, students who were eligible for admission under the Dual Admissions plan would be guaranteed admission somewhere within the UC system, though not necessarily at their campus of first choice, and would be offered admission to a specific UC campus. Unlike current transfer admissions, however, students would know directly out of high school to which UC campus they had been admitted, and they would be guaranteed admission to that campus after successful completion of their UC-approved community college coursework.

• How, specifically, will the Dual Admissions pool be identified?

Like students in the new top 4%/ELC program, students eligible for the proposed Dual Admissions program would be identified through evaluation and ranking of student transcripts from each high school in the state. Students identified as ranking within the top 4% to 12.5% of their high school would receive a letter from the University informing them of their eligibility for the Dual Admissions program and inviting them to apply. UC will also maintain web pages for each student in the Dual Admissions program in order to maintain contact throughout their community college experience, provide guidance and counseling, and assist students in developing their academic portfolio.

No implementation date has yet been established, and the Dual Admissions proposal must undergo thorough review by the UC faculty under University’s established framework of shared governance. After review and endorsement by the Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools--the Universitywide faculty committee that oversees admissions policy--and by the Regents, the Dual Admissions Plan could go into effect for students graduating from high school in Spring 2002 at the very earliest. A more likely effective date is for students graduating in Spring 2003.