(SACRAMENTO) – Today, Assemblymember Timothy S. Grayson (D-Concord), Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), and Assemblymember Catharine Baker (R-San Ramon) introduced Assembly Bill 1674, which will ensure that qualified Californian students are not denied admission at UC institutions in favor of less qualified out-of-state students.
AB 1674 will specify that when UC campuses admit nonresident undergraduate students, their academic qualifications must, on average, exceed that of resident undergraduate students.
Assemblymember Grayson said the following: “While nonresident enrollment adds value on campus in terms of diversity of background, there are consequences to a process that increasingly favors out-of-state students over qualified in-state students. The system is failing the very people it vowed to serve, those students who dream of graduating high school and attending some of the highest quality institutions their home state has to offer. AB 1674 will make sure that admission at a UC campus is based on academic performance, not other factors. This bill shifts the focus back to our students.”
While resident applications have increased by over 50 percent in the past decade, resident undergraduate enrollment has only grown 10 percent. In that time, nonresident enrollment has grown by over 400 percent. A 2016 report by the State Auditor also found that in recent years the UC system regularly admitted nonresidents with lower academic qualifications than the resident students it admitted.
“Each year, the UC has continued to admit a growing number of out-of-state and international students while equally or more highly qualified California students are being rejected,” said Assemblymember Grayson. “It’s time to hold UC accountable to its mission to serve Californian students.”
AB 1674 will be heard in hearings in the spring.
Tim Grayson represents the 14th Assembly District that includes the communities of Benicia, Concord, Clayton, Martinez, Pleasant Hill, Vallejo, Pittsburg and Walnut Creek. For more information please visit the Assemblymember’s website, www.assembly.ca.gov/a14.