UC Report Urges Shift in Admissions of Minorities

A faculty report on UC Berkeley freshman admissions policies that could lead to slightly more restrictive rules on admissions of blacks, Latinos and American Indians and slightly less restrictive ones on Anglos and Asian-Americans was submitted Wednesday to the school’s Academic Senate.

Although the report by the nine-member Admissions and Enrollment Committee of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate, chaired by sociology professor Jerome Karabel, was couched in often complicated language with many uncertain terms, university officials termed its recommendations an important step toward a new admissions policy to take effect in the fall of 1991.

The report is subject to review by Berkeley admissions officials and could undergo changes before the policies it advocates are put into effect.

But two of its recommendations could, if adopted, have a significant effect on the balance of student admissions by ethnic group.

First, it says that “The proportion of the fall freshmen . . . selected by academic criteria alone should be increased from 40% to 50%.” This probably would increase the number of Asian-Americans and Anglos admitted, because they account for a higher percentage of the best-qualified applicants, according to both school grades and scholastic aptitude test scores.

Second, it would give UC Berkeley the option of following UCLA’s lead this year and not automatically admit all blacks, Latinos and American Indians who are eligible by virtue of being in the top 12.5% academically of their high school graduating classes.

UC Berkeley, as well as many other universities, have faced much controversy over their admissions policies. Asian-American groups have charged that Berkeley restricts admissions of members of their community below what their academic standing would indicate, while just this week a prominent Latino group called for increased admissions of Latinos to the school.

For the 1989-90 academic year, UC Berkeley has had about 22,000 applicants for freshman positions but only about 3,800 positions to offer.

In the total applicant pool, UC Berkeley already finds that it has far more applicants each year who are eligible by the UC system’s 12.5% academic standard than it has openings in the freshman class. But up until now, it has admitted all of the academically eligible blacks, Latinos and American Indians while turning down many of the academically eligible Anglos and Asian-Americans.

But even while advocating some change in this arrangement, the report still contains many provisions for admitting students on the basis of cultural and ethnic diversity.

For this reason, campus officials cautioned Wednesday that the report’s precise effect on the ethnic balance of admissions is uncertain.

One campus official, who asked not to be identified, said the faculty report represents an assessment that “Berkeley has succeeded in diversifying its student body more quickly than we thought we would, and admissions policy must become more balanced as we reach parity between ethnic groups and their representation in the state’s high school graduating classes.