Regents postpone implementing Dual Admissions program

24 October 2001 | Implementation of the Dual Admissions Program, adopted by the UC Board of Regents this past summer, will be delayed because of the state’s economic downturn.

The program would have allowed high school students between the top 4 and 12.5 percent of their graduating class to transfer to a UC school as juniors after successfully completing two years of lower-division work at a community college.

“Despite strong indications that legislation would be passed to support the program…funding did not materialize because of the state’s fiscal difficulties,” said UC President Richard Atkinson.

The regents overwhelmingly passed Dual Admissions in July. Cost for the program — scheduled for implementation in 2003 — was estimated at $2.4 million per year for the first three years.

University officials are expected to renew a call to fund the program by next January, said UC spokesman Michael Reese.

Dual Admissions was scheduled to replace a similar Berkeley transfer student admissions program called Fresh Start.

Under this pilot program, a small group of ineligible Berkeley applicants with high potential for academic success are offered a chance to transfer from community college to Berkeley as juniors, if they meet the needed academic requirements.

However, despite the delay in implementing Dual Admissions, Fresh Start will not continue, said Pamela Burnett, director of undergraduate admissions.

“Our yield for this program was low, so we will not try to do this again,” said Burnett. “Because Fresh Start targets students who have already applied to Berkeley, we would never be able to replicate the numbers that might be generated by Dual Admissions, which targets students much earlier in their high school career.”

The 17 Fresh Start students accepted last fall, who will transfer to Berkeley next year, will receive support from Berkeley’s Transfer Alliance Program, said Burnett.

The Berkeley campus, she said, will also continue to work actively with community colleges informally to recruit transfer students.