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UC
critics question late change to
plan to raise admission GPA
By
Eleanor Yang
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
September
22, 2004
University
of California officials have scaled back a controversial proposal
that would raise the minimum grade-point average needed for admission.
The
last-minute change to the proposal, which is subject to a vote
tomorrow by UC regents, has been criticized by a growing number
of activists who fear raising the minimum GPA would disproportionately
hurt black and Latino applicants.
Originally,
the change would have raised the minimum GPA from 2.8 to 3.1,
roughly from a B minus, to a B average, based on a scale on which
4.0 is an A.
Critics
had feared that the original proposal, which would have dropped
eligibility rates by 1 to 3 percentage points for every ethnic
group, would have had a disproportionate effect on blacks and
Latinos because they make up a smaller pool of applicants.
Yesterday's
revised figure would raise the minimum GPA to 3.0. It is estimated
to reduce the number of applicants deemed eligible by about 750,
which factors to a reduction of 275 enrolled UC students. If approved,
the change would be implemented starting with students applying
for admission in fall 2007.
UC
administrators said yesterday the hope is that the new proposal
is clearer and easier to understand.
Many
students and civil-rights activists, however, said they are dissatisfied
with the change.
"I
think it's a minor move in the right direction, but I don't think
they should do it hastily like this," said Bill Kidder, a
researcher for the Equal Justice Society, an organization advocating
social change.
UC
Student Association President Jennifer Lilla questioned why any
changes are necessary. Lilla said she's uncomfortable with a recent
report that prompted the changes.
In
the report, the California Postsecondary Education Commission
found that UC's eligibility standards are below those set by the
Master Plan for Education, adopted in 1960 to ensure all California
students have a path to college.
While
the Master Plan called for UC to accept applicants from the top
12.5 percent of high school graduates, the commission study found
that as many as 14.4 percent of those students are now UC-eligible.
Lilla
and Kidder have criticized the study for its large margin of error.
They're calling on UC regents to postpone their vote tomorrow
and conduct a new study with more reliable numbers.
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Eleanor Yang: (619) 542-4564; eleanor.yang@uniontrib.com
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