UC Berkeley admitted 30 percent fewer black freshmen for next fall, magnifying a UC-wide trend.

Admissions data the university released Tuesday show that its flagship campus admitted a smaller percentage of black and Latino students for next fall than it did in 2003 after several years of relative stability. Cal officials blame the decline on a host of factors, including higher fees and deep cuts to the university's outreach efforts into low-income K-12 schools.

The data also revealed the 10-campus university system asked 7,600 UC-eligible students to attend a community college for two years to save the state money. The move breaks a 44-year-old promise to admit all eligible students.

"It's been a very difficult year for students," said Susan Wilbur, director of undergraduate admissions for the UC system. "It's been a very difficult year for the university. We certainly don't like turning away students."

The decline in black students alarmed UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Berdahl, who in a statement called the figures "flat-out unacceptable".

"I am profoundly saddened and disappointed that so many of these students, especially African American students, will not receive the exceptional education and experience that this public institution has to offer," he said.

The decline in admission of members of underrepresented minority groups follows highly publicized charges by UC Regent John Moores that Berkeley has been admitting lower-achieving black and Latino students in an end run around Proposition 209. That initiative, which went into effect in 1998, banned race-based affirmative action in admissions, state hiring and public contracting.

Cal officials maintain Moores' accusations did not prompt any changes in the admissions process -- which involves consideration of not only grades and test scores but also accomplishments and personal hardship. Still, with each application read by two people, "thousands of decisions" were made, said Richard Black, UC Berkeley assistant vice chancellor.

"Whether Regent Moores' comments had any influence on the decisions readers made, I can't say."

Black students admitted to Berkeley for next fall fell to 211, from 298 the year before, a 30 percent decrease. They make up 2.4 percent of this year's admitted class, down from 3.5 percent last year. Chicano/Latino students at Berkeley declined 7 percent to 955. They make up 11 percent of the admitted freshmen class, down from 12.2 percent the year before. These figures are for those who are admitted, not those who actually decide to enroll.

Systemwide, the number of blacks admitted as freshmen for next fall to UC's eight undergraduate campuses fell 15 percent to 1,469. Partly that is a result of a 7 percent decline systemwide in applications from black students. It is not clear exactly why fewer applied, although Wilbur said other major public universities saw similar declines.

Statistics also suggest that Cal offered admission to fewer students from low-income families than in years past. Financial aid data revealed a 10 percent drop in students who qualified for federal Pell Grants, Berkeley officials said.

The university's outreach programs into K-12 schools have sustained deep cuts, which officials blame for part of the decline in African American admissions. Berkeley has lost at least $4.5 million in outreach and related funds over the last two years, Black said. Other budget cuts have limited the number of visits admissions officers can make to high schools.

The system offered admission to a total of 46,923 students statewide, down from 50,291 last year.

The UC system also is struggling with a request by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to send 3,200 students who would have enrolled at a UC to community college for two years to save the state the higher cost of educating them at UC. It turned away 7,600 in what is being called the "Guaranteed Transfer Option." Berkeley was responsible for 1,737 of those offers.

It is not clear how many students will take up the UC system on the offer or just go elsewhere.