The University of California considered “inappropriate factors” in admitting 64 applicants into its schools — while turning away others who were more qualified, a new state audit found.
Twenty-two applicants were accepted into UC schools as athletes, even though they had little athletic talent, the Los Angeles Times reported.
And 42 candidates got into UC Berkeley based off their links to donors and staff, according to the audit, which scrutinized admissions practices at Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara from the 2013-14 through the 2018-19 school year.
“By admitting 64 noncompetitive applicants, the university undermined the fairness and integrity of its admissions process and deprived more qualified students of the opportunity for admission,” state Auditor Elaine M. Howle said in a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and elected officials.
The majority of students accepted into UC schools were white and at least half had annual family incomes of $150,000 or more, according to the findings.
The audit comes on the heels of UC’s involvement in the sweeping college admissions scandal, which ensnared ex-UCLA men’s soccer coach Jorge Salcedo, who vouched for two students as sham soccer players for a $200,000 bribe, and a UC Berkeley student whose father, former Canadian football player David Sidoo, paid $200,000 in bribes to rig test scores.
Salcedo has agreed to plead guilty in a deal with prosecutors, while Sidoo was sentenced to three months in jail.
Dozens of other parents and educators were also busted — including former “Full House” star Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman from “Desperate Housewives.” Both women have pleaded guilty.
The state audit also follows a 2016 review of how California students are affected by the growing enrollment of nonresidents at the top public research system in the country, the LA Times noted.
UCLA, one of the nation’s most selective colleges, admitted just 15,643 of 108,837 applicants for fall 2020. UC overall admitted 149,461 students of 215,162 applicants.
UC president Michael V. Drake promised to “take prompt action to address issues raised in the State Auditor’s draft report.”
“I have zero tolerance on matters of integrity, and will do everything I can to ensure inappropriate admissions do not happen on any of our campuses,” he said on Aug. 27 in response to the review.
