UC wakes up

The University of California is launching one of its biggest changes ever, and it’s about time. Under political duress and upon reflection, the top ranked system is opening the door in a major way for transfer students.

It’s a significant step for important reasons. For students who couldn’t make the cut as freshmen but dedicated themselves to studying at community colleges and the California State University campuses, it’s a way to earn a prestigious UC degree. By waiting a year or two and transferring, it’s also cheaper because community colleges charge next to nothing compared UC’s five-figure tuition.

In a state with changing demographics, the shift is imperative. Admitting more transfers is a way to diversify UC classrooms both economically and racially. Under an agreement earlier this year, the transfer wave could grow without diminishing academic standards. A transfer candidate will have to post acceptable grades on courses developed by UC faculty.

The numbers aren’t small. UC is offering admission slots to 137,000 applicants at its nine undergraduate campuses. That includes 28,750 transfer students, up from 20,000 last year.

The university deserves credit for sizing up California’s growing population and devising a way to include more students in the golden opportunity of a UC degree.

But that vision was undoubtedly achieved more quickly after demands from Gov. Jerry Brown, a longtime UC skeptic, and state lawmakers. Brown withheld $50 million from UC after a critical audit and demanded that system open up to more transfers. Now that UC is responding, Sacramento will face a bill to pay for additional instructors, classrooms and facilities.

The UC system is bursting at the seams with applications growing by the year. That’s a tribute to its stature in higher education. Including more in-state transfer students is a welcome part of this picture.