WASC Accreditation

Required for schools to establish "a-g" course lists
In December 2002, the Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS) approved a policy that requires all public and private schools to be WASC-accredited in order to establish a UC-approved "a-g" course list. As a result, accreditation information is now required when schools update their UC-certified "a-g" course lists using the online submission process.

Schools that currently have UC-approved course lists, but are not WASC-accredited were able to maintain their lists (as provisional) until June 2006, or until they become fully accredited. Schools in this situation were sent a letter on UC Policy and non-WASC accreditation (doc) in December 2002.

New schools seeking WASC accreditation may establish a "provisional" course list once they become a candidate for accreditation. The provisional list will become permanent once they become fully accredited. Schools requesting to establish a course list for the first time should go to the "New Schools" section of the FAQs and review and complete the New School Survey.

For information on how to initiate the WASC accreditation process, please see the "New Schools" section of this web site.

This policy consideration was initiated because many operators of home schools, charter schools, and other educational options inquired about establishing "a-g" course lists. Months of research and analysis on behalf of BOARS led to this policy that UC faculty and staff believe is fair, justified, and upholds the integrity of the UC admissions process. For questions related to this policy, feel free to contact or call (510) 987-9570.

Students who attend non-WASC accredited schools in California may become Eligible by Examination Alone. If a student meets the eligibility criteria articulated below, he/she becomes statewide eligible (i.e., eligible to all UC campuses). However, eligibility simply means that the student is guaranteed a spot in the system, not necessarily at the campus of his/her choice. Students may qualify for admission to the University by earning high scores on the ACT Assessment plus Writing or SAT Reasoning Test, and two SAT Subject Tests. To qualify this way, one must achieve a minimum UC Score Total--calculated according to the Eligibility Index instructions--of 410 (425 for nonresidents). In addition, the student must earn a minimum UC Score of 63 on each component of the ACT or SAT Reasoning Test and on each SAT Subject Test. Applicants may not use an SAT Subject Test to meet these requirements if they have completed a transferable college course in that subject with a grade of C or better.

If students fail to meet these criteria, the student would need to rely on Admission by Exception, meaning that they are NOT eligible using the three paths to freshman eligibility, but can, at the discretion of the campus admissions director, be admitted based on strong qualifications.

In order to be admitted by exception, it is in the student's best interest to demonstrate proficiency in each of the "a-g" subject areas. This can/should be done by completing coursework at high schools with "a-g" course lists, completing community college coursework that is articulated to UC (listed on the ASSIST web site), completing University coursework, and/or scoring well on standardized subject area tests (SAT II or AP). Of course, the campuses also look at other qualifications, such as community service, leadership, special skills and interests (i.e., the arts, athletics, etc.) and several other contributing factors to understand the complete person and how he/she might contribute to and benefit from University life.