Nathan Brostrom: UC already educating more with less support

Re “Brown and Napolitano must put students first” (Opinions, March 5): Your editorial about funding for the University of California makes several incorrect assumptions about UC finances and measures the university has taken to mitigate declining state support.

The state currently funds UC at the same level it did in 1997, even though the university today enrolls 75,000 more students – more than the combined student bodies of UCLA and Berkeley. Through efficiencies and cutbacks, the cost of a UC education has actually decreased considerably, even as the state has dramatically cut support.

The decision to hold enrollment of California students at the 2014-15 level was made with regret at a time of record high numbers of applications and when our state needs a highly skilled workforce more than ever. Nonetheless, UC will still admit more than 61,000 California freshmen and more than 18,000 transfer students.

While UC believes strongly in the need to educate more Californians, we can no longer admit students on the hope that the state will eventually fund them. We currently educate 7,100 California students for whom we never received state funding. As such, we will put more qualified UC applicants on wait lists and should funding materialize, these students will be offered admission.

This story was originally published March 9, 2015 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Nathan Brostrom: UC already educating more with less support."