The state's higher education master plan spells out that the two university systems should maintain enrollment of 60 percent upper division students, versus 40 percent lower division.
"We do that by enrolling two transfers for every freshman," explains Allison Jones, senior director of access and retention for CSU. "Systemwide, we have about 70 percent upper division, and 30 percent lower division."
The California state code for education stipulates that upper division transfer students have priority admission to the university systems, second only to continuing undergraduates at those universities. For example, CSU-Northridge, which has been forced to restrict some enrollment, nonetheless is still accepting upper-division transfer students. transfer students.
"Our lower division just jam-packed," says Cydney Walsh the school' admissions and records analyst.
Alternative Criteria
Not all universities have been happy with guaranteed admission.
The university of California-Irvine had a transfer program similar to the contract concept, but canceled it in 1996 because of a poor response rate, says Dr. Susan Wilbur, the university's admissions director.
Irvine instead has opted for a transfer program that gives priority admission consideration and guaranteed her using to community college honors students.
Unlike other programs this plan requires community college faculty members to participate, which "emphasizes the importance of faculty in promoting transfer," Wilbur says.
"It also gives the faculty members an important entree to the university," she says, "and for us, an important new link to the community college."
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