BERKELEY >> Students applying to the University of California were heartened to hear Tuesday that the university has a new plan to help meet the soaring demand of in-state applicants by increasing in-state undergraduate enrollment by 10,000 — roughly 20 percent — over the next three years.
The budget state lawmakers approved last June earmarked an extra $25 million for the University of California if the system registered 5,000 more in-state students by the 2016-17 academic year. But UC also plans to add 5,000 more slots over the two following years.
The proposed expansion follows a period of intense criticism of UC and months of intense wrangling with the Legislature over funding, tuition and enrollment.
During the economic downturn, the financially strapped UC had admitted more out-of-state students because they pay much more in tuition, even as it became harder for California residents to get in.
Now, students and their parents hope the elite institution that has shut out so many promising applicants will finally be within their reach.
“It might give more students a chance,” said Chris Tam, a senior at American Indian Public High School in Oakland.
In fact, he added, “I think it might help me.”
In recent years, good students like Tam have been rejected not only from hypercompetitive campuses like UC Berkeley and UCLA but also from campuses like UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis.
Last spring, 40 percent of California high school seniors vying for admission to UC were rejected by every campus to which they applied.
“I think it’s overdue,” said Matthew Gordan, Tam’s college counselor, of UC’s proposal, which was unveiled Monday. “Anything to help relieve some stress for students.”
The $25 million in additional funding from the state would cover about half of the expansion’s cost, said UC spokeswoman Dianne Klein. In addition, the university would aim to cover the rest with increased donations and tuition increases for out-of-state students, among other sources.
Under the plan, the university would also stop giving scholarships to low-income students from other states — about $36 million per year, according to Klein — although students currently receiving the aid will continue to receive it.
The university is counting on continued funding from the state to help pay for such costs as additional faculty, student services and housing.
“You can’t just say, ‘OK everybody, come and just squeeze in,’ “ Klein said. “Where are they going to sleep? Who’s going to teach them?”
The university will consider tuition increases pegged to inflation beginning in 2017, a move the California State University system is also weighing.
After a period of steep hikes, UC and CSU tuition have remained flat for in-state undergraduates since 2011.
Out-of-state and international students, on the other hand, saw their fees rise by 8 percent this year — and are likely to see similar hikes in the next four years. They now pay $37,424 in systemwide tuition and fees alone, about three times as much as California residents. And the university has come to rely heavily on that stream of money.
The expansion plan does not include a campus-by-campus breakdown, Klein said, but all nine undergraduate campuses would be a part of it.
UC would also add 2,000 graduate students by 2018.
The regents are scheduled to vote on the proposal during their public meeting at UC San Francisco’s Mission Bay campus Nov. 19-20.
