University of California campuses — including San Diego — would expand enrollment of California undergraduates over the next three years under a plan given preliminary approval Thursday by UC's governing board.
UC President Janet Napolitano's plan would increase enrollment of state resident undergraduates by 10,000 over that time span, including 5,000 freshmen and transfer students next year.
The enrollment program was approved by UC's Committees on Finance and Long Range Planning as part of its consideration of the university's proposed operating budget for 2016-17.
The full Board of Regents is scheduled to vote Friday on the budget and enrollment plan.
"The University of California is committed to ensuring educational opportunity for current and future generations of students," Napolitano said. "That imperative is the driving force behind the proposal to increase access for Californians, to sustain that expanded access and to maintain the excellence of what is commonly considered to be the best research university in the world."
If the board approves the plan, all nine UC campuses that educate undergraduates will see a rise in enrollment of California residents, an increase made possible by a state budget allocation of $25 million, with an additional $25 million provided by the university, UC regents said.
The board said it intends to sustain the expanded access in the following two years, enrolling 2,500 additional California resident undergraduates in 2017-18 and again in 2018-19, for a total increase of 10,000 students.
The university also is requesting an additional $6 million in state funding to enroll 600 more graduate students in 2016-17, and will seek to continue to increase graduate student enrollment at a proportionate rate for the following two years.
