Report 2015-107 Recommendation 15 Responses

Report 2015-107: The University of California: Its Admissions and Financial Decisions Have Disadvantaged California Resident Students (Release Date: March 2016)

Recommendation #15 To: University of California

To ensure that its recruiting efforts benefit residents, the university should prioritize recruiting residents over nonresidents. In particular, the university should focus its recruiting efforts broadly to ensure that it effectively recruits resident underrepresented minorities. For example, the university could establish a limit on the amount of funds it dedicates to nonresident recruiting. Further, it should develop a process to better track its nonresident and resident recruiting expenditures.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2020

In response to the CSA's recommendation to prioritize the recruitment of residents over nonresidents, the university's commitment to California Residents is clear As previously communicated, campuses engage in significantly more outreach and recruitment efforts throughout the state than out of state through college fairs, high school visits, open houses, and campus preview days. Systemwide recruitment efforts include outreach to the top 15% of students in the state, Achieve UC and UC for You recruitment events as well as the professional development opportunities for counselors through the UC High School Counselor Conferences and Ensuring Transfer Success Institutes conducted in partnership with the California Community College Chancellor's Office. The University of California's vast Student Academic Preparation and Educational Partnerships (SAPEP) portfolio of programs prepares California students — including those who are first-generation college-goers or socioeconomically disadvantaged and those for whom English is a second language.

While campuses have not established a limit on the amount of funds it dedicates to nonresident recruiting, the majority of expenditures are dedicated to residents. UC will continue to monitor annual expenses. A process for tracking expenses has been in place for several years. The current pandemic has upended traditional recruitment activities both in and out of the state. Virtual events allow for greater reach regardless of physical boundaries.

The university recognizes the spirit of the recommendation and has completed implementation to the extent it plans to.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Will Not Implement

Essentially, the university describes the condition at the time of the audit as the university's response does not identify actions it has taken to address this recommendation by, for example, establishing a limit on the amount of funds it dedicates to nonresident recruiting.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2019

Per Regents Policy 2102: Policy on Undergraduate Admissions, the commitment to California Residents is clear and the prioritization of recruitment and admissions of residents is implicit in this policy. Additionally, the Guideline on Undergraduate Recruitment Practices reaffirms this commitment as it states: "As the University meets its enrollment goals, the University will keep the educational interests of the state, prospective students and the University at the forefront of admissions and recruitment practices." Campuses engage in significantly more outreach and recruitment efforts throughout the state than out of state through college fairs, high school visits, open houses, and campus preview days. Systemwide recruitment efforts include outreach to the top 15% of students in the state, Achieve UC and UC for You recruitment events as well as the professional development opportunities for counselors through the UC High School Counselor Conferences and Ensuring Transfer Success Institutes conducted in partnership with the California Community College Chancellor's Office. The University of California's vast Student Academic Preparation and Educational Partnerships (SAPEP) portfolio of programs prepares California students — including those who are first-generation college-goers or socioeconomically disadvantaged and those for whom English is a second language.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: No Action Taken

The university's response does not identify actions it has taken to address this recommendation by, for example, establishing a limit on the amount of funds it dedicates to nonresident recruiting.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2018

The vast majority of applicants for undergraduate admissions as well as new student enrollments are residents of the state. The fall 2017 enrollment headcount for Davis, Merced, Riverside, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz were each under the 18% cap prescribed in Regents Policy 2109 (passed in May 2017). Berkeley, Irvine, Los Angeles, and San Diego caps are set at the percent of nonresidents enrolled in 2017-18 academic year. While the Regents Policy did not set a systemwide cap, the percent of nonresident undergraduates enrolled systemwide for fall 2017 was 17.2%.

With the improved accounting structure that was implemented in 2016, UC was able to confirm that in fiscal year 17-18, the proportion of resident to nonresident recruitment expenses was approximately 80/20. Also, no state funds were spent on nonresident recruitment activities.

Campuses continue to engage in a broad range of diversity initiatives within the state targeting different populations such as rural schools, schools with high percentages of underrepresented students, Native American students and community-based organizations that serve these student populations. The objectives of these partnerships include:

-Increasing awareness of UC admission requirements

-Extending a message of welcome and support for underrepresented students

-Engaging students earlier in the college admission process

-Increasing enrollments for admitted underrepresented students

-Hosting counselor training events both on campus and at local high schools for counselors working at schools with high percentages of underrepresented, low-income and first-generation students.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Partially Implemented

The new accounting codes implemented by the university and its recruiting partnerships within the State are positive steps; however, the university has not yet implemented a policy to prioritize recruitment of residents over nonresidents.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2017

The University continues to prioritize the recruitment of California residents over nonresident students. In 2016-17, California residents constituted 83 percent of all undergraduates enrolled in the UC system. Moreover, the President's goal of enrolling 10,000 more California resident undergraduates over three years (to be fulfilled by the end of the 2017-18 academic year) is on track and nearly fulfilled. Finally, in May 2017, the UC Board of Regents approved Policy 2109 limiting out-of-state and international student enrollment at UC. The Regents voted to cap nonresident undergraduate enrollment to 18 percent at the Davis, Merced, Riverside, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz campuses. The remaining campuses—Berkeley, Irvine, Los Angeles, and San Diego—may not exceed the percentage of nonresidents enrolled in the 2017-18 academic year. The Regents plan to review this policy in three years.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Partially Implemented

The new accounting codes implemented by the university are a positive step; however, the university has not yet implemented a policy to prioritize recruitment of residents over nonresidents, nor has it taken steps to limit the amount campuses spend on nonresident recruiting.

Furthermore, the nonresident enrollment cap of 18 percent exceeds the percentage of nonresidents enrolled during our audit period. This cap also allows campuses that currently exceed the 18 percent cap to maintain the 2017-18 academic year levels of nonresident enrollment. Secondly, provision 4 allows that the enrollment of nonresident students can increase at the campuses that are currently below the cap to up to 18 percent of their enrollment. As a result, the new university's policy will result in an increased enrollment of nonresident students.

1-Year Agency Response

On October 1, 2016 the Office of the President implemented new accounting codes that will help campuses better track nonresident and resident recruiting expenditures. All campuses will be required to distinguish nonresident recruiting expenses from other expenses this fiscal year, and that data will be available when the actual results are published for 2016-17 in November 2017.

The University has always prioritized the recruitment of California residents over nonresidents. Over 83 percent of all undergraduate students are California residents. To further demonstrate this commitment, the UC Board of Regents plans to adopt a nonresident enrollment policy at its May 2017 meeting. This policy will set a limit on UC nonresident undergraduate enrollment.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Partially Implemented

The new accounting codes implemented by the university are a positive step; however, the university has not yet implemented a policy to prioritize recruitment of residents over nonresidents, nor has it taken steps to limit the amount campuses spend on nonresident recruiting.

However, the proposed nonresident enrollment cap of 20 percent, which the university subsequently lowered to 18 percent, exceeds the percentage of nonresidents enrolled during our audit period. Further, this "cap" has two elements that could result in an increase of nonresident enrollment at many campuses. First, provision 5 of the proposed policy allows campuses that currently exceed the cap to maintain the current levels of nonresident enrollment and grow those levels in proportion to the enrollment increase of resident students. Secondly, provision 4 allows that the enrollment of nonresident students can increase at the campuses that are currently below the cap. Specifically, provision 4 states: "For the University of California system as a whole, and at every campus that currently enrolls less than [18] percent of its undergraduates from outside California, California residents shall continue to represent a minimum of eighty percent of all undergraduate students."

6-Month Agency Response

See attached

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

In its attachment, the university stated it disagreed with the our assessment that the "University...has taken [no steps] to ensure that its recruiting efforts benefit residents." To support its position, the university noted that its Fall 2016 admission results demonstrate that its recruitment activities have been successful in admitting more residents, including sizeable increases in the admission of students from underrepresented groups. The university provided data on its Fall 2016 admission of freshman residents and community college transfers. Furthermore, the university indicated that it is in the process of finalizing new accounting codes that will help campuses better track nonresident and resident recruiting expenditures.

While the increased enrollment of residents is a positive development, the university has not indicated any policy or recruitment changes that would have caused this increased enrollment. To address this aspect of our recommendation, the university should demonstrate that its policy is to prioritize recruiting the residents over nonresidents. Further, the university's improved process to track nonresident and resident recruiting expenditures should entail more than the addition of new accounting codes. Rather, it should involve monitoring of recruiting expenditures to ensure that campuses' recruiting activities are consistent with university and state policy.

60-Day Agency Response

The University strongly disagrees with the suggestion that it does not currently prioritize the recruitment of California residents. In 2014-15, the University spent 56 percent more to recruit California residents than it did nonresidents. In fact, only 23 percent of UC recruiting expenses is exclusively devoted to recruiting nonresidents. On this point, then, the University believes that its current recruitment efforts are completely aligned with the California State Auditor's recommendation. (Fully Implemented)

Regarding the recommendation that the "University should focus its recruiting efforts broadly to ensure that it effectively recruits resident underrepresented minorities," preliminary data from the 2015-16 freshman recruitment cycle indicate that UC campuses continue to be fully aligned with this goal. As noted in the University's April 4, 2016 news release,

"The latest admission figures show a substantial increase in the number and percentage of California freshmen from historically underrepresented groups, representing 37.2% of all California freshmen admitted for fall 2016. Admission of Chicano/Latinos increased to 32 percent of the total number of admitted students, up from 28.8% last year. The number of admitted African-American students jumped 32% over 2015."

Preliminary admission figures for transfer students also show robust increases in the number of students from underrepresented groups who have been admitted to all UC campuses. Although the transfer admissions process will not be completed until mid-June, preliminary data indicate that UC campuses have admitted substantially more transfer students from underrepresented groups over the previous year. (Fully Implemented)

Finally, the University will develop a process to better track its nonresident and resident recruiting expenditures. These new processes will be implemented no later than December 2016.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: No Action Taken

The university's response does not identify any new steps that it has taken to ensure that its recruiting efforts benefit residents. Furthermore, the response does not indicate whether the university plans to establish a limit on the amount of funds it dedicates to nonresident recruiting, which we cited as an example of how the university might focus its recruiting efforts broadly to ensure that it effectively recruits resident underrepresented minorities . Finally, the university did not provide detail related to the process it intends to implement that will allow it to better track its nonresident and resident recruiting expenditures.

All Recommendations in 2015-107

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.