Thursday marks the first day of classes for UC Santa Cruz students for the 2025-26 school year. UCSC officials previously told Lookout they expect overall undergraduate enrollment will be similar to the past two years, at around 17,600 to 17,790 students.
UC Santa Cruz
Posted inLatest News
Santa Cruz assault suspect sketch similar to one from earlier UCSC attacks
Santa Cruz police are searching for a suspect in an August sexual assault on Frederick Street that seriously injured a woman. A sketch of the suspect closely resembles a sketch of a man wanted in two UC Santa Cruz campus attacks earlier this year, but police say they don’t yet have evidence that the cases are related.
Posted inEducation
UC Santa Cruz begins phasing out on-campus homes as residences for college provosts
Citing rising maintenance costs, UC Santa Cruz is starting to phase out its use of on-campus residences to house the provosts of some of its colleges. The first of the homes was built in 1968 for the Cowell College provost.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Why do UCSC students have the worst mental health in the UC system? Let’s start with housing
UC Santa Cruz students report the worst mental health in the UC system, citing stress, anxiety and housing insecurity. Activist Kevin Norton calls on UCSC to provide more on-campus housing, slow enrollment growth and establish stronger ties between students and the wider community.
Posted inEducation
Joint Cabrillo-UCSC student housing project to finally break ground this month
Cabrillo College and UC Santa Cruz will break ground Sept. 29 on a long-planned, $111 million joint student housing and child care project at Cabrillo’s Aptos campus, marking the community college’s first-ever student housing.
Posted inEducation
Historic horse stable, home to rescue animals, faces eviction as UCSC moves to acquire coastal property
After five decades serving local horse owners and rescue animals, Coast Road Stables faces displacement as UC Santa Cruz and The Conservation Fund move forward with plans to purchase the 200-acre coastal property just north of city limits. With leases set to end by June 2026, boarders say they’ve been left in the dark — and are now scrambling to find alternatives for their animals, many of which are elderly or medically fragile.
Posted inEducation
University of California UPTE union to hold strike authorization vote in late September
The union representing more than 20,000 technical, research and health care workers across the University of California system is prepared for a multiday work stoppage if members vote to authorize a strike.
Posted inEducation
UCSC acquires 414 acres for conservation, farming in major land deal
UC Santa Cruz is expanding its footprint with the acquisition of two properties long held by a Santa Cruz family: 214 acres of protected natural land next to its main campus, and about 200 acres of oceanfront farmland near the Seymour Marine Discovery Center.
Posted inEducation
UCSC sees drop in undergraduate applications for first time in five years
UC Santa Cruz saw its first drop in undergraduate applications in five years — down 7.3% — even as national numbers rose. Meanwhile, the university has repeatedly declined to release graduate enrollment data for the upcoming year, citing what one official called a “dynamic situation.”
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
UC Santa Cruz needs to admit more local students
Santa Cruz High School students face one of the lowest acceptance rates to UC Santa Cruz in the state — even as wealthier schools hundreds of miles away fare far better. Former supervisor and UCSC professor Ryan Coonerty argues it’s time for the university to give local students priority.
