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How do you go about creating a 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ admissions system where all students — not just the privileged — have an equal opportunity?

That was the theme in October at a 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Berkeley symposium that examined whether Proposition. 209 has widened the student diversity gap. Ten years ago, state voters approved the ballot measure as a way to ban race as a factor in public school admissions and state hiring. Now, 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ faculty and administrators, including those at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Davis, are presenting their evidence on the law's impact — and it is deemed significant.

Consider that in 1997, the year before Prop. 209 went into effect, African-American freshmen at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ's 10 campuses registered at just 4 percent of the total student population. By 2005, this already-low rate had fallen to 3 percent, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. With facts like these, some educators are concerned that 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ is losing ground with minority groups.

'Not being served'

Mark Rashid, a 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Davis professor of civil and environmental engineering and co-author of two reports delivered at the symposium, said that "universities need to consider more than academics. There is a large part of the population not being served."

As Rashid noted, 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ enrollment slots are set aside for California high school graduates who earn the top 12.5 percent of standardized test scores (the SAT) and in high school grade-point-averages (GPA) from 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ-approved classes. However, with this quantitative approach, he and others believe the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ system is failing to admit enough students based on intangible qualifications — community involvement, leadership skills and character — or those who overcame socioeconomic hardships.

He maintains that while 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Davis and other campuses now employ so-called "comprehensive review" to look at an applicant's entire file — considering their personal narratives as well as grade-point averages and SAT scores — only high school students with sufficiently high GPAs and SATs make it into the pool in the first place.

The problem, Rashid and his fellow co-authors wrote, is that the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ's reliance on GPA and SAT scores is "simplistic," "narrow" and "unfair" to certain students. "In defining merit in such an inappropriate way, the current eligibility construct ill-serves educational preparation and academic achievement," states the report, California at a Crossroads: Confronting the Looming Threat to Achievement, Access and Equity at the University of California and Beyond.

With only about one-eighth of all California students eligible for 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ admissions, the report states that eligible students tend to come from higher-income families and certain racial and ethnic groups.

What can be done? Rashid and his colleagues would like to see the admissions pipeline opened up much more broadly so many more students would undergo comprehensive review.

Not everyone agrees.

SAT, GPA good predictors

Keith Widaman, chair of the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Davis psychology department, is not persuaded about admission problems.

"I don't think admissions is in a terrible state," said Widaman, a former chair of the same committee Rashid serves on. He is also the chair of the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Davis Academic Senate Committee on Admissions and Enrollment.

While Widaman agrees that many factors must be taken into account when determining a student's acceptance into Davis, he is wary of de-emphasizing academic achievement in determining admissions.

"Grades and SAT scores are the best predictors we have," he said, citing a report done by the California Postsecondary Education Commission that found both entrance exams and GPA had a positive correlation with first-year GPAs. "It's hard to fake good on those."

In 1999, Widaman said, the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ system loosened up its eligibility criteria when it allowed the top 4 percent of students from all California public high schools to be eligible for 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ admissions. Faculty developed the new criteria following more than a year of analysis, considering ways for the university to increase the number of 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ-eligible students while still fulfilling its obligation to enroll from the top 12.5 percent of California high school graduates and continuing to maintain academic quality.

However, some of these disadvantaged high school students eligible for 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ admission will instead apply to community colleges or the California State University, said Widaman. Why? 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ costs more and the others offer many more campus locations than the 10-campus 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ.

"It's sometimes hard to convince students that a 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ education will be that valuable to them," he said.

Merely continuing to expand 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ eligibility criteria is not the best answer to attracting these types of underprivileged students, Widaman said. "We can change things and bring in students who won't do as well but we don't want to invite unprepared students to the university to fail."

Few people at 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Davis know as much about admissions as Pamela Burnett. The director of undergraduate admissions, she will tell you that the lack of diversity in the student body is "absolutely a problem."

"There are students with great potential who, due to educational and other barriers, are deterred from having a voice in our academic discourse," she said.

Prop. 209, Burnett said, is one of these barriers. In her opinion, the problem with Prop. 209 is that "it assumes that the playing field is already level — and it's not."

She believes too many deserving students are currently deemed ineligible.

"We're here to serve California to bring different experiences, different viewpoints and different ideas from capable students of all communities in California," said Burnett, adding that 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ strives to ensure that the demographics of its undergraduate student population reflects the population of California.

One way to achieve this is for the 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ to expand its eligibility process and allow comprehensive review for more students, according to the second report 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ Eligibility: The Quest for Excellence and Diversity.

Rashid described it as "the right way, the just way for 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ to assess applicants."

To Widaman, admissions is a "difficult business," and he warns about watering down the admissions process. Still, he believes 51³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏ would benefit from a more "inclusive" and "fair" system. The challenge, he added, is how to bring this about.

Allison Leung is a student intern for Dateline.