SAN FRANCISCO
The University of California’s governing board on Thursday unanimously approved a major overhaul of its admissions policy that will greatly expand the pool of undergraduate applicants but guarantee admission to fewer high-achieving students.
Set to take effect with the freshman class of fall 2012, the new eligibility standards adopted by the UC Board of Regents represent the biggest change to UC admissions policy in nearly 50 years. It is designed to give many more high school seniors a shot at attending one of the nation’s top public universities.
The new rules will reduce the number of students guaranteed admission based solely on their grades and test scores, but increase the number whose applications will be eligible for a full review by an admissions committee.
Under the revised qualification requirements, applicants also will no longer have to take at least two SAT subject exams, which officials say blocked many otherwise-qualified students from seeking admission to a UC campus.
“You can’t get much fairer than this policy,” said UC President Mark Yudof. “We look at the whole student, and we look at more students … It clearly will not diminish the qualify of the students.”
