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Saddled with $410 million in state cuts this year, the University of California took an unprecedented cost-cutting measure Tuesday, rejecting out-of-hand transfer applications from about 1,600 students for the winter semester. 

“We have tried to find other ways of coping with the budget cuts, but we have reached a point where the educational experience at the University of California will be severely compromised if we continue to grow without funding to support new students,” said UC President Richard C. Atkinson in a statement. “We know our applicants have worked very hard to be eligible to attend UC, and they deserve to attend UC. We deeply regret having to delay their plans.” 

Nearly all of the students affected attend state community colleges which have traditionally served as a pipeline to four-year campuses. 

This fall UC admitted a record 14,665 community college students, 7.6 percent more than in 2002—marking the fifth straight year UC schools have bumped up the number of junior college transfers. Since the state budget did not designate money for scheduled enrollment growth next year, UC decided to sacrifice the transfers in order to preserve academic quality. 

About 500 students with transfer guarantees authorized by their junior colleges and a UC School were not affected by the move. UC will refund the rest their $40 application fee. They have not been granted first access for fall enrollment. 

Several university centers refunded hundreds of applications, but UC Berkeley—which accepted all of its 322 transfers in the fall—was not affected. 

Hardest hit were UC Riverside, which refunded 848 applicants; UC Irvine, 710; UC Santa Cruz, 687 and UC Santa Barbara, 574. 

Manuel Alcala, Transfer Director at Laney College in Oakland, said he hadn’t gauged the fallout from Tuesday’s decision, but he was sure several Laney students were affected and will now be in academic limbo until the fall.  

“People aren’t yelling yet, but they will be,” he said. He said the college has seen a growing number of students transfer to private schools or state schools outside California as UC schools cut enrollment growth and raise fees. 

UC officials warned that Tuesday’s move could be a harbinger of more cuts to come. The Board of Regents will discuss freezing 2004-2005 enrollments at this year’s level, effectively stalling its mandate to increase enrollment by 60,000 by the end of the decade. 

UC Berkeley was slated to add 4,000 students as part of Tidal Wave II, enacted in 1997 to reflect the state’s growing population. University officials said they have already absorbed 3,000 students and that given budgetary concerns, the final thousand wouldn’t be admitted until later in the decade. 

“Given the present indication we are looking at very limited or no growth for the next few years,” said UC Berkeley Assistant Vice Chancellor for Admissions Richard Black.