Black, Latino Enrollment at UC Drops : Education: The number of incoming freshmen is down for the second year in a row. The recession and higher fees are blamed.

For the second year in a row, the number of African-Americans and Latinos enrolled as freshmen at the University of California dropped last fall, according to a report discussed Friday at a UC Board of Regents meeting.

UC officials said the decline could be a result of the recession and higher student fees. In the previous decade, both African-Americans and Latinos showed gains.

“We don’t know for sure, but we feel some financial issues here are playing into the choices,” said Carla Ferri, UC’s director of undergraduate admissions. She said African-American and Latino families may be feeling the economic squeeze more than others and are opting for community colleges and Cal State campuses, where fees are lower and students are more likely to live at home.

Moreover, Ferri said, private colleges and universities may be offering better financial aid packages to attract minority students. “We feel there has been quite a competition from other institutions for these students,” she said.

The recent riots in Los Angeles show UC should do more to close “the gap between the haves and have-nots” through education, said Regent Ralph M. Ochoa. But Ochoa, an alumni leader, said he feared that the troubling enrollment trend will continue because of UC’s budget crunch.

The number of African-American freshmen dropped last fall to 807, down from 899 in 1990 and 1,177 in 1989. Blacks represented 5.7% of the freshman class in 1989, compared to 4.2% last fall.

Latino freshmen, including the separate UC category of Chicanos, numbered 2,685 last fall, down from 2,797 in 1990 and 2,991 in 1989, the report stated. Latinos, who made up 14.5% of freshmen in 1989, declined to 13.9% last fall.

Meanwhile, Asian-Americans showed significant increases, while Anglos showed decreases. Between the fall of 1989 and fall, 1991, the number of Asian-American freshmen rose from 4,275, or 20.8%, to 5,139, or 26.6%. In the same period, reflecting a general demographic change among high school graduates, the number of Anglo freshmen dipped from 10,314, or 50.2%, to 8,782, or 45.5%. Overall freshman enrollment dropped from 20,534 to 19,305 over the three years.

Anglos and Asian-Americans finish their UC education at higher rates than other groups, according to another report discussed Friday. For most freshmen who began UC in fall, 1984, 70.5% had graduated six years later. The rate was 72.5% for Anglo students, 70.8% for Asian-Americans, 60.6% for Chicanos, 65.6% for other Latinos and 53.7% for African-Americans. American Indians, who show slight gains in freshman enrollment, had the lowest six-year completion rate, 49.4%.

Maricela Marquez, president of the UC Student Assn., blamed the decline in numbers of Latino and African-American freshmen on hefty fee hikes. Next fall, annual undergraduate fees, not including living expenses or books, will average $3,036, an increase of about 90% over the past three years.

In other business Friday, the regents approved creation of a panel to help plan the transition between UC President David P. Gardner, who is leaving office Oct. 1, and his successor, Jack W. Peltason, now UC Irvine chancellor. Headed by UCLA Chancellor Charles E. Young, the study group will tackle such issues as cuts in state support and possible enrollment limits.