UCI to Enroll Minorities at Record Level This Fall

Record numbers of black, Latino and American Indian students have applied and signaled their intent to attend UC Irvine in September, indicating that the university’s much-publicized effort to recruit under-represented minorities is paying off.

At the same time, the number of white students who applied and have made a commitment to attend UCI next fall has dropped significantly, university records show.

Preliminary enrollment numbers indicate that the freshman class next fall will include 451 students from the three under-represented groups, or 20.4% of the class, up from 322 under-represented students, or 11.4% of all freshman during the 1988-89 academic year. White freshmen are expected to number 716, or 32.6% of the class, compared to 1,271 white students, or 44.5%, who enrolled at UCI last year.

The change in a single year is extraordinary, said Admissions Director James E. Dunning, a 22-year veteran of admissions work at UCI.

“I can’t think of anything quite as drastic before,” he said.

The fall ethnic breakdown is also amplified because the freshman class at the overcrowded campus will be limited to a maximum 2,350 students in September, down from 2,855 freshmen last year. And while the numbers of students who indicated by the June 1 deadline that they will attend UCI in the fall is only an early indicator of actual enrollment, the figures suggest a shifting student profile or a statistical aberration.

The sudden change is attributable only in part to changing state demographics, which are expected to result in a 1% to 2% drop in white freshman enrollment and a similar margin of increase for Latinos and Asians throughout the University of California system, university officials said.

“At UCI, I’d say it’s a combination of the work we’ve done in the high schools, our recruiting efforts overall and, hopefully, a hospitable environment,” said Dennis J. Galligani, assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs.

UCI Chancellor Jack W. Peltason has pledged to make recruitment and retention of under-represented minority students a high priority at UCI, where 50.2% of all undergraduates are white, 33.5% are Asian, but just 10.9% are black, Latino or American Indian. Systemwide, whites average 65%, Asians 16.8% and under-represented minorities 14.5%.

UCI has suffered from an image problem that stemmed from several incidents of racial prejudice or insensitivity in recent years and complaints by black and Latino students that they felt isolated and unwanted.

The university has worked to overcome the negative picture by involving professors, particularly minority professors, in a more personalized recruiting effort and by expanding mentor programs for under-represented minority students. Construction of a new, prominently located Cross Cultural Center, where many minority students find a home base on campus, also has sent a strong message to prospective students this year.

Roy Bass, 18, a black Inglewood High School student who plans to study social ecology at UCI next fall, said his parents had heard that the university had “a minority problem,” but said their concerns were allayed by the welcome they felt during a campus visit. Bass said the same “warmth” persuaded him to enroll.

“I participated in a four-day program for under-represented students last summer, and that’s when I decided,” he said. “When I got there, the people were so friendly and I thought the campus was a pretty place because it was green and open. It wasn’t like UCLA, where there was hustle and bustle all over the place.”

Several of his high school and neighborhood friends also chose UCI, Bass said.

Huntington Beach High School senior Kevin Beardslee, who wants to study mechanical engineering, had his pick of several University of California campuses, but the choice came down to simple economics and sporty wheels.

“I had the option of going to UCLA and living on campus,” Beardslee said, “or going to UC Irvine, living at home and having my parents buy me a car.”

Beardslee, 18, who is a Cherokee Indian, chose UCI and a fire-engine red Mustang.

“UCI has an excellent engineering school and I can live with my parents,” he explained. “I feel like I’ll fit in pretty easily.”

The expected increase in under-represented minority enrollment at UCI “looks like good news,” particularly considering the competition between university campuses for eligible minority students, Galligani said. UCLA, for example, attracted 60% of California’s UC-eligible black students in 1987, he said.

About 42% of UCI’s students come from Los Angeles County, with 38% from Orange County, 14% from elsewhere in California and 6% from other states or foreign countries.

UCI’s apparent recruiting success for the fall semester, however, comes as the university is forced by overcrowding to limit freshman admissions for the first time in its 25-year history. A larger-than-expected freshman class last year strained classroom capacity and threatened the quality of instruction, officials said.

As a result, an estimated 1,100 eligible high school seniors were turned away for the fall semester, according to admissions office estimates. None of those who were not accommodated were from under-represented groups, Galligani and Dunning said. State law requires the UC system to accept 12.5% of all graduating high school seniors in California. However, the university does not guarantee the students will be able to attend their campus of first choice.

“Our goal is to accommodate all eligible students,” Galligani said. “Last year, we were over (the freshmen capacity), and we realized we had just pushed the number of students too far. Students were having a difficult time getting into classes and we felt it was important to assure a quality education.”

Of the students turned away for the coming academic year, most or all will find a berth at another UC campus, probably UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara or UC Davis, according to Galligani and Dunning.

UCI APPROVED FRESHMAN APPLICANTS

The table below shows the ethnic breakdown of freshman student applicants who qualify for admission to UCI for fall, 1988 and fall, 1989.

FALL, 1988 APPLIED ADMITTED* ACCEPTED** Group Number % Number % Number % American Indian/ 87 .6 70 .7 13 .5 Alaskan Native Black/African- 453 3.1 292 2.9 79 2.8 American Chicano/Mexican- 744 5.1 601 6.1 154 5.4 American Latino/Other Spanish 447 3.0 357 3.6 76 2.7 American Subtotal 1,731 11.8 1,320 13.3 322 11.4 Underrepresented Pilipino/Filipino 498 3.4 290 2.9 59 2.1 Chinese/Chinese- 1,718 11.7 1,148 11.6 339 11.9 American East Indian/ 266 1.8 174 1.8 59 2.1 Pakistani Japanese/Japanese- 492 3.3 336 3.4 110 3.9 American Korean/Korean- 1,119 7.6 698 7.0 264 9.2 American Polynesian 42 .3 27 .3 12 .4 Other Asian 772 5.2 541 5.5 287 10.1 Subtotal Asian 4,907 33.3 3,214 32.5 1,130 39.7 White/Caucasian 7,314 49.7 4,873 49.1 1,271 44.5 Other 233 1.6 149 1.5 47 1.6 Decline to state 520 3.5 370 3.7 85 3.0 Total from 14,705 100.0 9,926 100.0 2,855 100.0 high school

FALL, 1989 APPLIED ADMITTED* ACCEPTED** Group Number % Number % Number % American Indian/ 83 .6 69 .8 18 .8 Alaskan Native Black/African- 474 3.3 328 4.0 93 4.2 American Chicano-Mexican 1,024 7.2 820 10.1 235 10.7 American Latino/Other 459 3.2 376 4.6 105 4.7 Spanish American Subtotal 2,040 14.3 1,593 19.5 451 20.4 Underrepresented Pilipino/Filipino 537 3.8 231 2.8 62 2.8 Chinese/Chinese 1,714 12.0 1,014 12.4 264 12.0 American East Indian/ 296 2.1 188 2.4 48 2.1 Pakistani Japanese/Japanese 433 3.0 266 3.3 71 3.2 American Korean/Korean- 1,215 8.5 607 7.4 198 9.0 American Polynesian 57 .4 31 .4 10 .4 Other Asian 920 6.4 583 7.2 269 12.2 Subtotal Asian 5,172 36.2 2,920 35.9 922 41.7 White/Caucasian 6,325 44.2 3,212 39.4 71671 32.6 Other 213 1.5 110 1.3 32 1.4 Decline to state 554 3.9 318 3.9 74 3.3 Total from 14,304 100.0 8,153 100.0 2,195 100.0 high school

* Admitted: Students eligible to attend. ** Accepted: Eligible students who have made commitments by June 1 to attend. Notes: Students accepted figures for fall, 1989 are as of June 5. Individual percentages may not equal 100% because of rounding.

Source: UCI