New eligibility requirements could mean fewer Asians at UC

The California Aggie
Change could be "detrimental" to Asian American population at UC, critics say
Written by PATRICK McCARTNEY
Published April 7, 2009

The new UC eligibility requirements have sparked an uproar with some Asian American community leaders, who say the change will cause a decline in the university's Asian American population.
Chinese for Affirmative Action is among several national advocacy organizations that have expressed concern over the eligibility changes. The organization has suggested that the new eligibility requirements could cause "unintentional whitening" of UC.
"There's almost a swapping out of Asian students for white students. Let's not rush this thing," said Vincent Pan, executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action, in a press release.
"The concern is that this policy change hasn't been well studied and hasn't determined how it will affect the diversity of the student body at UC," said Susan Hseih, spokesperson for Chinese for Affirmative Action.
Beginning with the fall class of 2012, students will no longer have to take the SAT Subject Tests, also known as SAT II, in order to have their application considered by UC.
The new admissions policy could change the demographics of admitted UC students.
According to a California Postsecondary Education Commission study that examined 2007 applicants, the new requirements would have hypothetically caused a 4 to 7 percent decline in the proportion of admitted Asian American students in 2007-2008. African American students would have seen at most a 1 percent increase, Latinos a 3 percent increase, and white students as much as a 10 percent increase.
The admitted fall 2007 class was 36 percent Asian American, 34 percent white, 19 percent Chicano/Latino, 4 percent African American, 1 percent Native American and 6 percent other or unknown.

Full Story: http://www.theaggie.org/article/3434