University of California President Janet Napolitano and several UC chancellors joined President Obama and education leaders from around the country at a higher education summit today (Jan. 16) aimed at making college more accessible to low-income students.

 

Participants included UC Berkeley Chancellor Nicholas Dirks, UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland, UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla and roughly 90 other college and university presidents. They were asked to come armed with ideas for how higher education can better serve those on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder.

 

 

"The promise that anyone, no matter how humble their beginnings, can have a shot at a high-quality college education is at the heart of what makes this country strong — and it's what the University of California is all about," Napolitano said. "I'm looking forward to sharing what UC is doing that works, discussing what else we intend to do and hearing other ideas on this important issue."

 

Indeed, UC's record on successfully serving low-income students stands apart from any other research university in the nation.

 

Among the thousands of bright and hard-working students that UC educates, 72,500 undergraduates — 40 percent of the student body — come from low-income households, a number that no other top-tier university comes close to matching. To put that figure in perspective: UC educates eight times as many low-income students as the entire Ivy League combined.

 

Among the 2013 freshman class, 46 percent of California students are first-generation college-going students.

 

These students don't only enroll in large numbers: They also go on to achieve academic success and graduate at high rates, approaching those of their more affluent peers who often come from higher-performing high schools and face fewer family and financial pressures.

 

At UCLA, data reflect the campus commitment to ensuring opportunity, access and success for low-income students.

 

 

• About 38% of undergraduates receive a federal Pell Grant, and those students have a graduation rate of 89 percent.

• Of UCLA’s 2011-12 graduating class, 54% had no student loan debt, and the 46% who did borrow had an average debt of $20,049 — well below the national average of about $25,000.

• About 32 percent of UCLA undergraduates would be the first generation in their families to graduate from a four-year college or university.

 

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block had been scheduled to attend the December summit, which was postponed after Nelson Mandela’s death. A prior commitment prevented him from participating at the White House on Jan. 16.

 

Napolitano has pledged to increase the flow of community college students to UC and improve the online system that helps students track course requirements and manage the transfer process.

 

Napolitano has committed to work with the heads of the California State University and California Community College System to increase college awareness and opportunity, including providing more information about the availability of financial aid.

 

She also pledged to look for ways to close the gap between the number of California high school students whose standardized test scores demonstrate the ability to do college-level work and the number of students who take the courses necessary for college admission. In partnership with the College Board, UC will launch an effort that includes mailings, student outreach and high school visits to promote college-readiness.

 

Napolitano has been actively engaged in expanding access and opportunity since she assumed leadership of the 10-campus UC system in October.

 

Among her first actions as president, Napolitano called for a freeze on undergraduate tuition levels for the 2014–15 academic year, and announced she would develop a new tuition policy aimed at reducing cost volatility.

 

"There is always more we can do," Napolitano said. "The University of California was created to serve the people of this state — and that means serving everyone, regardless of income."

 

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