California regents vote to raise required GPA

[Rose Siding]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — University of California regents voted Thursday to raise the required grade-point average for incoming students, drawing an angry response from students that the move would hurt enrollment of blacks and Hispanics.

The decision raises the minimum required GPA from 2.8 to 3.0.

The vote infuriated about three dozen students at the meeting, and they greeted the decision with shouts of "Education is a right. Not just for the rich and white."

The change, which takes effect for students entering in fall 2007, stems from a recent report that found only 14.4% of California high school students are meeting UC requirements. Under state educational policy, UC is supposed to draw students from the top 12.5% of graduates, designing its admission standards to capture that group.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-09-23-calif-regents_x.htm

[cindyw]

1. two responses

1. On the selfish tip, I feel a whole lot more accomplished knowing I was in the top 12% of students in CA. UCSB grad baby!

2. You know this was gonna happen. They already stopped Affirmative Action. This is the next logical step in institutionalized racism. If the university wants to ensure a more diversive and more accomplished campus, they have to push for higher standards in the high schools. When will people get that you don't fight racism on high school campuses you guarantee racism in the admission process.

[skooooo]

4. Part of the problem is decreased funding...

...they can't take as many students, so they can afford to be more selective. It's happening everywhere.

[Pale_Rider]

5. Let them attend the CSU system.

The California college system is essentially three tiered. The first tier is the junior or community colleges. The second tier is the CSU system which either takes freshman students or jr college transfer students. The third tier is the UC system which takes anybody that meets the entrance requirements. The only difference really is that the CSU system usually don't confer degrees higher than a Masters. The UC system confer degrees up to a doctoral. Also UC tuition is higher than for the CSU system.

At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter whether one goes to an UC or CSU. It really matters what the student does as far as effort and what they get out of it. In fact in the CSU system, students usually have greater face time with their professors than students in the UC system due to the practice of having grad assistants doing the majority of instruction time. In the CSU system, professors have less pressure to "Publish or Perish".

My two pence ...

[Athame]

7. that is exactly the plan

University of California is trying to get out of the business of educating undergrads in order to focus on their grad divisions as much as possible. The plan is to shift the undergrads to the Cal State system and take only the cream of the crop at UC, thus elevating the value of a UC education and also letting the professors concentrate on their research and their precious grad students. The graduate divisions have taken a big hit with foreign students not being allowed into the country or the process becoming so cumbersome that they give up and go to more welcoming countries. There are many other places that go out of their way to attract the science and engineering students that bring in the big defense bucks, but maybe now that the nuclear labs have gone to University of Texas and the Carlyle group that won't be such an issue...NOT!

[clonebot]

8. CSU/UC joint doctorial programs

In several cases the doctorial degrees are doing as a joint program between the two schools. for example, down here in San Diego - SDSU (a CSU school) has one of the top psychology graduate programs in the nation - and the local UC (UCSD) has an incredible medical school. so in order to get the degree in psychiatry - one must attend both schools in a joint program since UCSD knows their psychology program is no where near the quality and stature of SDSU and SDSU has no medical school.

this might not be the case in all cities though - it just so happens that SDSU is one the top CSU's in graduate funding, particularly for business, public health, and psychology. and next door UCSD has one of the best medical schools in the west.

so there are definite advantages to both university systems.

[Hekate]

2. Building prisons, not colleges

Since I went to college the population of California has doubled, but I think only one new UC campus has gone up. The number of prisons, however, has soared.

I live next door to UC Santa Barbara, renowned for physics, chem and biochem, home to a couple of Nobel laureates and several Nobel nominees. So you know it's not just about surfing here.

The freshman class is settling in as I write this: 4,000 fresh young faces.

Out of 40,000 applicants.

Hekate

[SoCalDem]

3. It's kind of irrelevant anyway.. There are always more students

than there are spaces available.. Even kids with 4.0 GPA sometimes have difficulty getting into the better schools..

At UCR, there is a huge Asian population ( translation BIG BUCK$ tuition that foreign parents willingly pay)..Most important classes have long waiting lists..

When my son was a junior in high school, he took chemistry at UCR in summer school so he would not have to take in in his senior year ( he was a 3 sport jock, and a 4.0 student with mostly AP classes, and did not have the time)..anyway, that ONE class cost us $700.00 plus books and lab supplies..

[Seabiscuit]

6. About Time!!!

The UC Regents have been too lenient for too long! As a UC Berkeley grad, I'd like to see a return to the good old days when higher education really meant something!!!

[henslee]

9. And when Univ. doors are shut, kids can be all they can be in the ARMY.