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UC faculty first brought forth the need for changing admissions criteria more than four years ago.
"In the public’s mind when they think about the University of California, they think of it as an engine of hope and opportunity," former Academic Senate Chair Michael Brown said in an October presentation to the Regents. "That’s how I think of UC, and I firmly believe that this proposal opens the door for more California young people to have that opportunity."
Under the version of the proposal President Mark Yudof is expected to recommend to the Regents in February, all students would still be expected to complete a minimum of 15 college preparatory courses and earn at least a 3.0 GPA to be eligible for admission, as UC currently requires. Also, all applicants would still be required to take either the SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT with Writing, but they would no longer be required to take two SAT Subject Tests.
California high-school seniors who meet these requirements would be entitled to a full and comprehensive review of their applications at each UC campus to which they apply.
Among this group, students who fall in the top 9 percent of all high school graduates statewide, based on their ACT or SAT test scores and GPA in UC-approved courses, would be guaranteed admission to at least one campus in the system, as would those who rank in the top 9 percent of their own high-school graduating class.
The proposal, which would take effect for the fall 2012 entering class, aligns UC’s test requirements more closely with those of other public universities. UC is the only public higher education system in the nation that currently requires SAT Subject Tests. Still, Subject Tests could be recommended for some majors at some campuses.
UC’s faculty proposed the elimination of the SAT Subject-Tests requirement after extensive studies found that the requirement that they be taken – as distinct from performance on the tests themselves – constitutes a barrier that has made otherwise high-performing students invisible to UC.
It is currently impossible for a student to become eligible without taking two SAT Subject Tests in two different subject areas. As a result, UC now grants admission eligibility to some students with lower GPAs and ACT/SAT scores at the expense of students with higher grades and test scores, simply for the technical reason that these higher-scoring students did not take the SAT Subject Tests.
The proposed changes send a clear message to California high school students that if they work hard, take challenging courses and do well, they will get to make their case that they have what it takes to succeed at UC. And the changes will continue to emphasize academic achievement as the primary criterion for UC admission.
Ricardo Vazquez is in the UCOP Strategic Communications Office.