By Arj Arjunan
Daily Bruin Contributor
With encouragement from University of California chancellors,
UCLA established the UC All Campus Consortium on Research and
Diversity to study issues of equity and access in the UC
system.
UC ACCORD will enlist educators, outreach professionals and
policy makers to focus on the educational system and seek answers
to disparities in achievement gaps that affect admission to the
university.
“It was created to increase the knowledge base about
educational access, eligibility and retention for students from
traditionally underrepresented minority groups,” said Abby
Lunardini, spokeswoman for UC President Richard Atkinson.
Currently, little research focuses on content instruction and
diverse student populations, Lunardini said.
Student regent Tracy Davis said the new center can increase the
number of underrepresented students at the UC.
The center comes after the regents rescinded SP-1 and 2,
policies which had banned affirmative action in admissions and
hiring throughout the UC.
Because Proposition 209 sets a statewide ban on the use of
affirmative action, the move by the regents is largely
symbolic.
Jeannie Oakes, co-director of UC ACCORD, said research should
guide educators, policy makers, accountability systems and the
public perception.
“There are 20 years of research in patterns of inequality
and achievement gaps,” Oakes said. “The goal is to have
research inform solutions and inject knowledge into the political
process.”
Oakes said disparities in admissions stem from a lack of
qualified teachers, the absence of a rigorous curriculum and poor
college guidance for students in K-12. She added that adequate
understanding of the inequities must involve testing that reveals
these problems and emphasizes subjective criteria.
“California tests are poor instruments,” Oakes said.
“Multiple-choice tests will miss a wide range that
authentically measures the knowledge of students,”
While gauging disparities between schools, UC ACCORD research
will also focus on unequal access to resources and opportunity
within schools, Oakes said.
She said African Americans and Latinos encounter stereotypes in
school that include having teachers underestimate their
capabilities.
Oakes welcomes the passage of the dual admissions program, which
grants UC admission to students who graduated in the top 12.5
percent of their high school class and who have fulfilled two years
of lower division studies at a community college.
“It’s a promising strategy,” she said.
“Students get more preparation and it adds some flexibility
in the system.”
But she questioned whether the students involved will face
stereotypes once they reach the UC and whether the program will
increase diversity. She said admission of the top 12.5 percent of
high school students might not be adequate.
Current enrollment limits outlined in the Master Plan for Higher
education ““ written by the state legislature in the 1960s
““ failed to account for dramatic population growth that calls
for expanded enrollment, she said.
Oakes said making the university accessible to more students
remains critical if the UC wants to fulfill its responsibilities as
a public institution.
“The UC has the choice between traditional excellence or a
new excellence that accounts for a democratic and diverse
population,” she said.