News Update

UC regents launching task force to explore enrollment growth

The University of California’s board of regents is creating a new task force to explore strategies for expanding enrollment at the system’s 10 campuses, said Cecilia Estolano, chair of the board, during a meeting Thursday.

“The charge of the task force is to explore and build support for long-term efforts to grow undergraduate and graduate enrollment at the University of California in a manner that maintains academic excellence, achieves inclusive access and success and enables more Californians from every part of the state to benefit from the University of California education,” Estolano said. 

Estolano will co-chair the task force with Maria Anguiano, a regent and executive vice president of  Arizona State University’s Learning Enterprise, a program that encourages lifelong learning opportunities.

The convening of the task force comes as UC is aiming by 2030 to increase undergraduate enrollment of California residents by 16,000 and graduate enrollment of California residents by 4,000. The system could also get help from the state to reach that goal. In his 2022-23 budget proposal released last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed giving the system $99 million in annual funding to increase enrollment by 7,132 students starting this fall. His proposal also says the system is expected to increase enrollment by that amount plus 1% per year for four additional years.

Estolano said Thursday that she is grateful for Newsom’s proposal, adding that it would give UC the “baseline budget and secured funding that we need” to reach the system’s 2030 enrollment goals.