In an attempt to increase the number of applicants to the University of California, the UC Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools has proposed significant changes to the freshmen eligibility requirements.
Among other issues, they contend that many successful high school seniors ““ whom they estimate number in the tens of thousands ““ have good GPAs and SAT scores but fail to meet some of the specific requirements of the UC.
To alleviate this, the new standard would eliminate the SAT II requirement and would allow students to apply after completing only 11 of 15 “a-g” courses ““ classes that high school students must take for UC eligibility ““ by the end of their third year of high school.
While their offers of admission may still be subject to cancellation, applicants who are unable to complete all 15 courses by the time they graduate will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and will not automatically have their admission revoked.
Mark Rashid, chairman of the board, said he hopes the new requirements will ensure that students who may have been overlooked before are given a fair chance for admission to a UC.
“We don’t want the lack of one test or one course to make the student invisible to the UC,” Rashid said.
Though increasing the accessibility of the university to students is an important part of the UC’s mission, administrators should look at the long-term effects and possible negative consequences that the changes will have in high schools and in the quality of the students they send to UC campuses.
While all students deserve a chance at a college education, the way to achieve greater access and outreach is not by altering academic standards.
While many “a-g” courses are already required by high schools for graduation, such as English, math and social sciences, the UC requires additional subjects, such as laboratory sciences, foreign language and visual performing arts.
Funding for these kinds of “a-g” courses can be scarce in many California public schools, and if these programs are cut altogether it makes it difficult for their students to become UC-eligible.
But by sending the message to high schools that it’s all right to send students to the UC without preparing them with “a-g” courses, schools especially may end up cutting programs, particular in poorer districts.
Fine arts and laboratory sciences, for example, allow for creativity and individual exploration ““ qualities that should be greatly valuable to any university.
Dropping the SAT II would also be an unnecessary change to application requirements.
Studies show that subject tests are unable to accurately predict student success in college, but they do provide application readers with another chance to evaluate applicants by an equalized measure.
Additionally, the SAT II and the SAT Reasoning test each test different aptitudes.
The SAT Reasoning Test, which would still be required, tests verbal and math skills. In contrast, the SAT II tests knowledge in specific subjects like U.S. history and biology.
There has been some concern about students who may be financially or logistically unable to fulfill the SAT II requirement.
While it is true that some students may have trouble completing standardized testing, this is not just unique to the SAT II. After all, the subject tests are given at the same locations and with the same frequency as the SAT reasoning test.
Students would still be required to take the SAT reasoning test and it is already accepted that allowances should be made, such as the fee waivers that are already available for both tests.
It would not be necessary to alter the implementation of the “a-g” and SAT II requirements if the UC could implement other measures of increasing the number of applicants while not compromising their admissions standards.
One possibility would be giving students the choice to apply either through the UC application or the Common Application, which is a single application that is already used by 120 public and private institutions online.
Doris Davis, associate provost for admissions and enrollment at Cornell, said she credited a 17 percent increase in applications to Cornell to the university’s shift from its own application to the Common Application in 2005.
Implementing the Common Application would not only allow the university to retain the same admissions standards and criteria, but could also increase the number of applicants from out of state as well as from California.
This would thus allow for a wider applicant pool and an increase in diversity.
Though each UC campus must review the proposal and the UC President must seek approval from the regents in order for the changes to take effect, it has received endorsement at UCLA.
“I will be communicating back to the Academic Council that the UCLA Senate supports the proposal,” said Elizabeth Bjork, chair of the UCLA Academic Senate.
If the proposed changes to the eligibility criteria take effect, the UCs may see a great rise in the number of applicants. There is no need, however, to sacrifice quality for quantity.
E-mail Noble at bnoble@media.ucla.edu.