Admissions data disclosed
UCLA released its final fall enrollment data Tuesday, finalizing figures that have drawn attention nationwide since they were released in May.
Though a preliminary report indicated that 95 black freshmen had submitted statements of intent to register, or SIRs, at UCLA, the final count for black students was 103. Of those students, 100 matriculated. Black students were the only underrepresented minority group with an increase in SIR numbers.
As of press time, university officials were not available to comment on the latest admissions figures due to time constraints.
The number of Latino students who submitted SIRs declined between the preliminary and final reports, from 147 to 143. According to UCLA’s admissions Web site, students must submit their SIR by May 1, 2007.
However, students who are rejected from the university can appeal the decision. About 7.2 percent of students who appealed their rejections for fall 2005 had their decisions reversed. This rate has held fairly constant since at least 2003.
At a rally for higher rates of minority admission in May, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Janina Montero said she had been presented with at least 110 appeal letters from minorities who had been denied admission for fall 2006.
Some of these appeals may have caused the boost in the number of black students enrolled, but university officials were not available for comment.
Since the preliminary report was released, the low numbers of underrepresented minorities admitted to the university has been widely criticized.
University officials have repeatedly said there is not much they can do to directly boost the number of underrepresented minority students admitted to UCLA since they are constrained by California law.
In 1996, voters passed Proposition 209, which prohibits California public colleges and universities from considering race or ethnicity in their admissions decisions.
“It would be unlawful to establish or endorse a specific target for the admission of students from any specific group or community,” university spokesman Lawrence Lokman recently told the Los Angeles Times.
But university officials said the latest figures show some positive change for minority admissions.
Even as the number of admitted black freshmen fell, the number of admitted black transfer students rose. For fall 2006, 162 black transfer students were admitted, up from 130 in fall 2005.

