Readers React: UC wants to educate more California transfer students. Why the criticism?

To the editor: Your editorial about the University of California’s widely praised decision to extend its deadline for transfer applicants unfairly blames UC for student anxiety. (“UC’s extension of application deadline for transfer students is unfair,” editorial, Dec. 17)

UC seeks more transfer applications as part of its commitment to enroll an additional 10,000 Californians over the next three years and 5,000 by next fall. The UC Board of Regents approved this plan only a little more than a week before the original Nov. 30 deadline.

Our campuses are making room for more California transfer students. You write that this fall’s transfer applications fell below expectations. Actually, preliminary figures show that applications from California community college students already have jumped 5.5% for next fall.

Moreover, UC also afforded undergraduate applicants an additional two months to work on their applications by beginning the process on Aug. 1 instead of Oct. 1.

This is all about opportunity. Nearly 90% of UC’s transfer admission offers go to students currently attending a California community college — and transfers make up a higher percentage of our admissions than any other public research university in the nation. UC looks forward to educating more of them.

It’s a shame that creating opportunity for more Californians to attend UC is considered unfair by The Times editorial board.

Stephen Handel, Oakland

The writer is associate vice president for undergraduate admissions for the UC Office of the President.

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