As many as 70 of the 160 City College students who applied to UCSB for winter quarter will soon find their unprocessed applications returned or denied as a direct consequence of state budget cuts.
“We hope to be able to accommodate next fall all eligible community college transfers we are having to turn away now,” said Chris Van Gieson, director of admissions for UCSB.
She added, however, that reduced funding is forcing the university to become more competitive about who it accepts. Officials are turning away a growing number of students, including transfers.
State budget deficits in the billions have cut deeply into the budgets of UC and Cal State campuses. Locally, the crisis will hit more than 211 students who had planned to transfer after completing the Fall 2003 semester.
Keith McLellan, dean of Educational Programs, estimated in campus memo an 80 to 85 percent reduction of City College’s midyear transfers to UC and Cal State schools.
“But students who meet the criteria will be assured a guaranteed registration in the fall,” McLellan stressed. He recommended that students wanting to transfer immediately contact the Transfer Center to check on their status and, if necessary, develop an alternate plan.
Right now, UCSB is not accepting any City College students with less than a 3.25 GPA for the winter, said Wendy Peters, coordinator of the SBCC-UCSB Transfer Academy.
UCSB is one of the few UC schools that offer transfers midyear. In the past, the university had accepted City College students in winter, although without formal guarantee. Students who apply in Fall 2004 under the transfer agreement should not be affected, Peters said.
Both City College and the university are encouraging rejected students to reapply in Fall 2004 when the transfer guarantee will apply.
Most of the students expecting to transfer to UCSB can expect to receive notices in the mail.
The Transfer Center plans to run advertisements in The Channels, as well as send out mailers soon to the affected students, McLellan said.
Students denied transfers have several options at this point, Peters added:
* They can wait until Fall 2004-when the transfer guarantee will apply-to enroll at City College to complete an associate’s degree.
* They can cross-enroll at UCSB this spring for a maximum of one course if they also take City College classes. Or students can enroll in UCSB core courses through the extension program.
To further help students preparing for fall transfer City College and UCSB officials have launched a new Transfer Academy.
“Membership in the academy will increase City College students’ chances of meeting those transfer requirements…by providing them access to a structured array of academic support services, and proactive interventions,” college spokeswoman Kay Bruce wrote in a prepared statement.
According to Bruce, the academy will prepare a specific plan for each student and provide feedback on transfer progress each semester. Academy leaders will prepare students for admission by connecting them with UCSB faculty and advisers in their major area and allow access to UCSB events, activities and library services.