Schools in the University of California and the California State University systems are updating their admissions policies to account for “extraordinary challenges” high school seniors are dealing with during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a joint press release, both UC and CSU said they are committed to holding harmless students entering universities, although each is taking its own approach in what measures they are implementing to accommodate incoming students.
The UC Office of the President announced the following measures to accommodate admissions for both juniors and seniors in high school right now:
- Suspending the letter grade requirement for A-G courses completed in winter/spring/summer 2020 for all students, including UC’s most-recently admitted freshmen.
- Suspending the standardized test requirement for students applying for fall 2021 freshman admission.
- Providing that there will be no rescission of student admissions offers that result from students or schools missing official final transcript deadlines, and student retention of admission status through the first day of class until official documents are received by campuses.
Meanwhile, CSU released its amended admissions policy for incoming high school seniors, prospective high school juniors, and students in grades 8-10.
For incoming college freshmen:
- Accepting transcripts for incoming freshmen through the fall 2020 term and will accept unofficial or self-reported data due to extend school closures.
- Assessing and initially placing students in first-year english/math based on multiple measures: high school college courses completed, GPAs and test scores (SBAC, ACT, SAT) that students have submitted thus far.
For high school juniors:
- CSU “recommends” all students enroll in a yearlong, senior-year English course and a mathematics/quantitative reasoning course.
- CSU is still determining the appropriate path forward for edibility criteria for fall 2021 applicants regarding the indefinite suspension of the ACT/SAT examinations.
For students in grades 8-10:
- Accepting “credit” or “pass” to satisfy A-G requirements completed during winter, spring, or summer 2020 terms. All prior coursework must be graded and a grade C- or better for the course to satisfy A-G requirements.
- Grades of credit/pass or no credit/non-passing will not be included in the calculation of high school GPA.
Additional information and guidance on grading for local school districts is expected to be released by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and State Board of Education President Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond.
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