Almost one out of every 10 students at the University of California is from China.

That’s 3,627 sons and daughters of upper class of the People’s Republic of China taking seats away from 3,627 sons and daughters of middle class, working class, and poor Californians.

Systemwide, the University of California’s 10 campuses have almost 20,000 Chinese nationals enrolled.

Add that to other public and private colleges, and there are roughly 50,000 Chinese nationals pursuing higher education in California.

The UC Davis number of 3,627 is north of 9 percent of the campus just west of Sacramento’s 41,239 overall enrollment.

It should be noted the California Legislature was irked a few years back that in-state enrollment  in the UC system was dropping despite increased applications of qualified California students.

At the same time, international enrollment was inching upward with the bulk by far coming from China, being the country that is the United States’ main competitor on the word stage in everything from tech and military equipment to agriculture.

The legislature negotiated a pact with the UC system to increase in-state enrollment.

In 2024, 83.4 percent of all UC students were from California.

You might think that the bulk of what’s left come from the other 49 states.

Guess again.

There were 299,407, as of February, enrolled in the UC system. Almost 7 percent, or 20,000, were from China. The remaining 10 percent not from California are from other states and countries.

The question that needs to be asked is why is just 83.4 of UC’s students from California when tens of thousands of otherwise qualified Golden State students are rejected each year?

The answer can be found following the money and the numbers.

The UC system has 299,407 students and an administrative staff of 192,400 plus a faculty staff of 26,100.

It is more than an educational system. It is a big business.

Of all employees, 30 percent of those employed are tied to delivery and support of the academic program.

The rest are researchers and medical personnel.

That means 66,000 or so people are employed in the actual education process. That’s almost five employees to every student.

Keep this in mind as the war escalates over yanking visas of existing — or denying student visa applications — for international students, specifically those from China.

It’s because UC leaders over the decades have a rich history of playing the money card whenever anyone suggests a budget cut.

They avoid letting the debate stray  into administrative bloat or a long overdue need to rethink and streamline what goes on in supporting what takes place in the classroom.

Non-resident tuition, which is paid primarily by international students with the bulk being Chinese and not those from other states, is $50,328.

In-state tuition is $14,934.

State of California’s taxpayers via the general fund cover 43 percent of the UC system’s core $10.8 billion budget.

It is actually more. That’a because tuition and fees cover 53 percent of the UC academic-related budget.

Some 53 percent of students from California receive tuition and fee assistance. That includes a healthy slice of Cal Grants from Sacramento and federal sources via Pell Grants in addition to private scholarships.

The state’s current $12 billion deficit means a likely 3 percent cut in state funding next year to the UC system.

UC leaders have historically argued that foreign students, unlike California students, pay a much higher tuition that is more than triple that of in-state students.

Cutting back on international students, we are always told, hurts in-state students.

It ever nicely short circuits a frank talk on why the UC system exists in the first place.

It was put in place to help power and grow the California economy.

The way things are now, the UC system established and financed primarily by California taxpayers closes the door on 20,000 in-state students to accommodate 20,000 foreign students of which more than two thirds are from China.

It does not matter if the Chinese students are somehow brighter than the in-state applicants that don’tmake the cut.

The UC system was not established, nor is it continually supported, for the benefit of non-Californians.

It is why having only 83.4 percent of UC students from California is an affront to state taxpayers.

And so is the excuse that if a foreign student pays more that they should be treated as VIP customers that go to the front of the line at Disneyland because they’ve got the cash especially when the People’s Republic of China did not invest a single penny in establishing and nurturing the UC system.

Sacramento needs to mandate 90 pendent of all UC students be from in-state.

As for how the UC system will absorb such a cost without the education funding equivalent of fentanyl in the form of triple plus standard tuition payments, they can rethink the need for so much support staff, of which much pushes paper.

After all, this is the same education and research system that was the first to produce fusion power — even If for a mere fraction of a second.

If they can do that, the UC system certainly can rethink and come up with a better way to support learning and operate the 10 UC campuses.

It should be noted that we are educating China’s students who will return either to their homeland and compete against us, or stay here and take jobs from American graduates of American universities.

There are less than 3,000 Californians attending universities in China per the Institute of International Education

California has 39.51 million residents.

That’s one California student in China per 13,166 Californians.

There are about 20,000 nationals from the People’s Republic of China studying in California.

China has 1.4 billion residents.

That’s one China student in California per 70,000 Chinese nationals.

Talk about lopsided “trade deficits” that jeopardize our economy and potentially our security.

Given the fact the China constitutes the second largest source of UC students making up almost a 10th of its student enrollment and the fact there are 10 campuses, perhaps a little truth in advertising is in order.

In honor of California’s growing role in educating China’s elite and the fact UC Davis is the No. 1 destination of Chinese nationalists, a rebranding is in order

The University of China at Davis.

At least it has an honest ring to it.

This column is the opinion of editor, Dennis Wyatt, and does not necessarily represent the opinions of The Bulletin or 209 Multimedia. He can be reached at [email protected]