Despite rumors about Cal State Long Beach becoming part of the University of California system, the university will remain a part of the 23-campus California State University system, according to CSULB university spokeswoman Toni Beron.
“This is a rumor that surfaces every few years,” Beron said.
Most recently, the rumor appeared on a gossip website, JuicyCampus.com, where people, not necessarily affiliated with a school, can start a new topic post on the website anonymously and others can respond confidentially.
According to Ricardo Vasquez, a UC spokesman, UCs tend to grant more Ph.D.s and have a focus on postgraduate work and research, while the CSUs focus more on undergraduates, and if they have a Ph.D program, they are often in conjunction with the ones from UCs.
Also, CSUs and UCs draw enrollment from different ranks of graduating high school seniors. UCs are obligated to draw from the top one-eighth of high school seniors, while CSUs usually draw from the top one-third of students.
“I don’t think that’s been done before,” Vasquez said in regards to questions regarding whether a state university has ever switched systems.
According to the California Master Plan for Higher Education, a “UC is designated the state’s primary academic research institution and is to provide undergraduate, graduate and professional education. UC is given exclusive jurisdiction in public higher education for doctoral degrees (with the two exceptions… ) and for instruction in law, medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine (the original plan included architecture).”
Many students who replied to message board thread on JuicyCampus.com responded positively, saying they would want CSULB to become part of the UC system or believed CSULB would become a polytechnic university.
An unscientific survey at Daily49er.com last week had 66 of 126 respondents – nearly half – in favor of CSULB becoming part of the UC system.
“It’s a good idea because this school is good in itself, but there are standards you look for before becoming a UC,” said Si Diep, a junior criminal justice major. “If we meet those standards, why not take the step up?”
Some students, however, said they would come to CSULB regardless of its CSU or UC status because of its proximity to their homes.
