Wonder What Santa Monica College Thinks About This Criticism

As blog readers will know, the governor put an item in his January budget proposal requiring UCLA to participate in certain community college transfer programs. The LAO disagreed with singling out one campus and recommended the legislature reject the proposal. Inside Higher Ed has a review of the debate which includes the excerpt below:

...Among the criticisms of UCLA is that too many transfers come from Santa Monica College relative to other colleges in the region. For example, UCLA welcomed 441 transfers from Santa Monica in fall 2022, compared to 62 from East Los Angeles College and 178 from Los Angeles Pierce College, system data show.

Michele Siqueiros, president of the Campaign for College Opportunity, a California-based higher ed research and advocacy organization, said this dynamic is part of what needs to change, and UCLA has a responsibility to make transfer smooth for all students, no matter what college they first attended.

“You have campuses that focus intensely on the transfer mission,” she said. “Santa Monica advertises itself as an institution where you go there and you can transfer to UCLA, and they have strong articulation agreements with [UCLA]. That’s part of what’s uneven and unfair about the transfer pathway for students, is that it really does depend on where you go, the counseling you get, and there’s huge inequality in the process.” ...

Full article at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2023/03/08/california-governor-wants-guaranteed-transfer-path-ucla.

Santa Monica College has clearly made an effort to encourage and facilitate transfers to UCLA. It seems odd to say that community colleges shouldn't compete to facilitate such transfers. Isn't the problem with community colleges that haven't made the effort Santa Monica has?