As a result of budget cuts within the Division of Undergraduate Education, the Academic Advancement Program, or AAP, is facing an unforeseeable future.
AAP provides historically underrepresented undergraduate students with resources, programs and opportunities to enhance their academic journey and support their career and graduate goals. Students within AAP are predominantly low-income, first-generation and come from under-resourced and disadvantaged educational backgrounds. A majority of AAP students belong to marginalized communities, with 69% of its members identifying as Latinx, African American and Native American.
On May 20, AAP members received an email addressing the changes the program must undergo due to the budget crisis the campus is experiencing. The email stated that AAP must “pause programs, engage in staff layouts, and significantly reduce [its] spending.” Beginning July 1, the program plans to reduce staff in its Peer Learning, Counseling and AAP Administration units, close its computer lounge and lower the available course offerings and staffing in its Freshmen and Transfer Summer Programs. There will also be a pause in the Research, Assessment and Evaluation programs as well as its Graduate and Professional School Services.
Dr. Charles Alexander, who serves as both AAP’s director and the Associate Vice Provost for Student Diversity in the Division of Undergraduate Education, discussed the steps AAP is taking to navigate these issues and respond to the anxieties of its student body.
“We’re still working on trying to maintain what we by partnering with different organizations across campus,” said Alexander, naming the Undergraduate Research Center and the Community Programs Office, both of which stand by AAP’s mission to aid UCLA’s diverse undergraduate student body. Alexander also emphasized AAP’s efforts to raise money in order to keep these programs, and even possibly add to them in the near future.
“We’re doing some fundraising with our alumni and have a very good development team that’s been reaching out to different donors that have supported us in the past,” shared Alexander. “We’ve been able to delay our [Vice Provost Pre-College Scholars] program which was actually scheduled this summer. VIPS received a [financial] gift recently that allowed them to continue having the summer program for 2025, but I am unsure about 2026 and going forward.”
The VIPS program is one of many AAP programs that offer guidance to underserved communities. It connects UCLA with students from Los Angeles County schools and community organizations that are underserved and educationally disadvantaged, preparing them to pursue graduate and professional educational opportunities. Alexander remarked that though there appears to be a present attack on diversity, equity and inclusion at higher-level institutions, he believes that “as long as there’s a community to support, AAP will be around.”
Still, he acknowledged that given AAP’s role in assisting students who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, the program’s budget crisis raises valid concerns.
“The budget for the state that we normally get is going to be reduced because the state does not have the money to operate as it did in the previous year,” stated Alexander. “It falls on everybody, but of course, when it falls on a program like AAP, it falls on the most vulnerable people, and that’s the students who need support the most.”
Alexander ensured AAP prioritizes the mental well-being of its students and staff, noting that they may possibly come across academic and financial barriers due to these budget cuts. He detailed the various events AAP hosts in order to give students and staff the space to have conversations with each other regarding relevant issues happening within both AAP and its broader community.
“We [recently] collaborated with Cafe 980 to welcome students to talk, discuss and share their thoughts over bowls of chili. We also have monthly coffee hours that are held both virtually and in-person,” mentioned Alexander. “I think, going forward, the university is trying to do as much as it can for both students and staff. We’re having a staff meeting next Friday, and we asked the Human Resource Department to come in and talk about what advice they have for the staff from a mental health standpoint. We will also have a conversation about ourselves with how we can support one another.”
Alexander claimed that though he is unsure of AAP’s future, he holds his faith in the students and staff who embody the program’s values through the daily efforts they make at UCLA.
“I would say I’m cautiously optimistic,” he said. “I say ‘cautiously’ because everything may not return to its original state, and ‘optimistic’ because the staff and leadership [within AAP] are so dedicated, committed and creative that I’m sure they’re going to find ways to enhance, strengthen and solidify AAP and to continue the work that has been so important and so vital to our students.”
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Featured Image Photographed by Julia Gu/BruinLife
