Audit: University Of California Undermines Resident Students
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — California's auditor says the University of California has undermined residents by admitting a growing number of nonresident students, some of whom were not as qualified as in-state students.
Out-of-state students pay more than in-state students, providing much-needed money to the financially beleaguered University of California. But in a scathing report released Tuesday, Auditor Elaine Howle says those admissions come at the expense of California students who are meant to benefit from the public university system.
UC President Janet Napolitano blasted the audit as unfair and misleading.
In a written response, she said the university has consistently provided a spot for the top one-eighth of California's high school graduates.
"We welcome collaboration with our state's elected leaders," Napolitano wrote in a letter accompanying the University's response to the audit. "Ours is a shared responsibility and California's Legislature and Governor are valued partners and supporters. Accordingly, the University of California approached this audit process in a spirit of cooperation, transparency, and goodwill ... The draft report that has been shared with us makes inferences and draws conclusions that are supported neither by the data nor by sound analysis," she said.
She says nonresident fees help keep doors open for resident students at a time when state assistance has dropped considerably.
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