study group on admissions, eligibility
Faculty to review issues
BY CYNTHIA LEE
UCLA Today Staff
A panel of University of California leaders appointed by President
Robert C. Dynes to review admissions and eligibility issues is recommending
that the Academic Senate conduct a comprehensive analysis of the
alignment of systemwide policies and campuses’ use of admissions
criteria.
A review of campus admissions practices by the 17-member panel
disclosed differences in the way that individual selection criteria
were being interpreted and applied, according to the group’s
report released April 29.
In some cases, campus practices appeared to be “out of alignment”
with systemwide guidelines on undergraduate admissions, the group
reported. Although some campuses have already adjusted their selection
practices, the study group called for the Board of Admissions and
Relations with Schools (BOARS), the Academic Senate faculty committee
charged with developing systemwide eligibility and admissions policy,
to do an analysis and report back to Dynes and the regents this
year.
“Any instances of noncompliance with university policy should
be corrected prior to the beginning of the Fall 2005 admissions
process,” the study group urged.
The study group, which includes Chancellor Albert Carnesale as
well as five current regents, unanimously adopted 15 findings and
recommendations designed to strengthen UC’s admissions process
and ensure its integrity.
“The members of the study group recognize that the integrity
of the admissions process is crucial to the university’s credibility
with students and parents, with schools throughout the state, and
with the general public,” said Regent Joanne Kozberg and Senior
Vice President for University Affairs Bruce B. Darling, co-chairs
of the group, in a letter accompanying the report.
The panel also urged BOARS to present a plan to the regents by
July for new eligibility criteria that will determine the top 12.5%
of the state’s public high school graduates.
BOARS is awaiting a report this month from the California Postsecondary
Education Commission, which periodically studies the rates at which
public high school graduates meet UC’s eligibility requirements.
“Preliminary estimates suggest that UC’s eligibility
rate will exceed 12.5%,” according to the panel’s report.
BOARS has begun studying options for adjusting the criteria so that,
in the future, no more than 12.5% of public high school graduates
will be UC-eligible, in accordance with the Master Plan.
The panel also asked BOARS to look into the policy of admitting
students to each campus from the full range of the eligibility pool
and report back on the benefits and consequences of this approach.
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