Block warns of challenges ahead for student diversity

UCLA has come a long way from 2006 when enrollment of 100 African American freshmen was at a 30-year low, Chancellor Gene Block told the UC regents during a Nov. 18 meeting at Covel Commons. Over the last three years, UCLA has managed to double that number, enrolling 204 in 2007, 230 in 2008 and 193 this year. At the same time, enrollment of Latino students has been steadily on the rise, while white and Asian American student enrollment has remained fairly constant.

 

"This is promising news, although I wish there was even more progress, especially with African American students," said Block, who was among several UC leaders reporting on diversity to the regents' committees on Long Range Planning and Educational Policy.

 

Also on the positive side, African American and Latino students are being accepted and enrolling at UCLA in percentages that roughly match their representation in the UC eligibility pool — in 2007, for example, African American students represented 3.4 percent of the UC eligibility pool and 4.5 percent of UCLA entering California freshmen. However, Block noted, the size of the eligibility pool is still a problem, largely because of many underperforming K-12 schools.

 

In recent years, a strong push has been made to encourage underrepresented students to come to UCLA. “Prodigious amounts of work” by alumni, community organizations, current students and top administrative leadership have increased the "yield rates" — the rates at which students decide to enroll here, Block said. In fact, yield rates are higher for underrepresented minority groups than for the admitted pool at large. In 2009, 48 percent of African-American students and 46.5 percent of Latino students who were offered admission elected to enroll at UCLA.

 

 

“Unfortunately,” Block noted, “our ability to enroll admitted African Americans from our highest holistic ranks has been disappointing.”

 

These students, who make up the top 15 percent of UCLA’s applicant pool, rank highly based on UCLA’s holistic review process, which considers academic and personal achievements and, if applicable, overcoming life challenges. In fall 2009, 75 African American students in the top holistic ranks were admitted to UCLA, but only 7 chose to enroll here.

 

Financial considerations are a major factor in these students' decision to go to UCLA. Block cited a survey that showed that African American students who were admitted but didn’t enroll based their decision on the fact that UCLA was unable to provide the level of scholarship support that highly ranked private colleges and universities could — schools that UCLA competes with for top students.

 

“These schools,” Block said, “are not constrained by Proposition 209 and can offer significant race-based scholarships which have an obvious attraction for any these students.”

 

And while many generous UCLA supporters have stepped up to the plate to help — from the UCLA Black Alumni Association to the California Community Foundation — the deep need for financial aid remains difficult to adequately meet.

 

 

Block also told the regents that he is concerned that the challenges of diversity will only worsen over the next few years as a result of dwindling state support coupled with enrollment reductions at UC campuses. The latter factor will effectively reduce admission at the lower holistic ranks.

 

“This will make it more difficult to sustain and move beyond the progress we have already made,” Block said. “This is not to say that we will cease to enroll outstanding students from underrepresented groups — we will — but the reductions in the overall number of undergraduates will work against us.” 

 

Block added that the campus continues its efforts to improve its yield of all students through outreach efforts and the  $500 million Bruin Scholars Initiative to raise additional undergraduate scholarship support.

 

UCLA is also working to enlarge the pool of UC-eligible students coming from underrepresented groups. Earlier this fall, the chancellor told the regents, the campus launched "a bold new experiment" with the opening of the UCLA Community School, a public school run as a pilot school by a partnership between UCLA, LAUSD and the community. Located in one of the most densely populated regions of L.A., the neighborhood supports a large Latino population.

 

"Our dream — my dream — is that this school will be the first of a number of schools that we will establish in Los Angeles — schools that will insure that inner-city children receive the benefits of a first-rate education and become UC-eligible," Block said. "We believe that significant gains in the diversity of our student body will require direct intervention by UCLA in K-12 education."

 

While the next few years will be challenging, Chancellor Block explained, "we will certainly do everything we can to maintain the momentum that has been created."