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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, December 22, 2000
Brad Hayward (510) 987-9004
Brad.Hayward@ucop.edu
UC WILL EXTEND ELIGIBILITY TO APPLICANTS FROM 'TOP 4 PERCENT' WHOSE
TRANSCRIPTS WERE NOT SUBMITTED
The University of California, in an effort to put students' interests
first, announced today (Dec. 22) that it will offer eligibility for fall
2001 admission to students who applied to UC and met the requirements
of UC's new "Eligibility in the Local Context," or "4 percent,"
program but whose schools did not forward the transcripts necessary to
include them in the program.
"We intend to guarantee these deserving students a place at UC because
they should not be disadvantaged by the fact that their schools did not
participate in this process," said C. Judson King, UC provost and
senior vice president for academic affairs. "We regret any confusion
or distress these students may have suffered, and we look forward to welcoming
them into the University of California community."
King stressed, however, that the university still needs the cooperation
of local high schools. Those schools that did not participate in the "Eligibility
in the Local Context" (ELC) program this year will be given until
Jan. 26, 2001, to provide UC with a list of the top 4 percent of students
in their senior classes, based on grades. Students who are not already
UC-eligible under the university's statewide eligibility criteria, who
met the course requirements of the ELC program, and who applied to UC
this fall will be guaranteed a space in the UC system, though not necessarily
at their campus of choice.
It is unclear precisely how many students are affected by this decision,
though UC officials estimate they may number a few hundred. Of the students
in the top 4 percent at any individual school, many may already be eligible
for UC under the university's statewide criteria and thus be unaffected
by this process. Overall, the university estimated that 11,000 students
would come under the ELC program, but that since many of them also would
be eligible under the statewide criteria, the number of students made
eligible solely by the ELC program would be about 3,600.
"This decision in no way implies that we concede the claims of the
recent lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union," King
said. "On the contrary, UC made extensive efforts to inform schools
of this program and to encourage their participation in it. We do not
know why some of them did not participate. However, at this point, our
goal is to do what is in the students' best interest."
The UC Board of Regents adopted the ELC program in March 1999 as an additional
"path" to UC eligibility. Eligibility indicates that a student
has met the university's basic academic requirements, and it guarantees
the student a place somewhere in the UC system. Admission to a specific
campus is a second, separate step in the process.
Students can become UC-eligible under statewide criteria, which consist
of high school grades and scores on standardized tests. Under the ELC
program, being implemented this year for the first time, students can
also become UC-eligible by ranking in the top 4 percent of their high
school class, based on their grades in UC-required courses.
The Regents adopted the program in order to broaden access to the university
for students who have done outstanding academic work in high school but
who have not met the statewide criteria for UC eligibility. It was adopted
in an effort to ensure that high-performing students from all areas of
the state, including students in rural and urban schools, would have access
to UC regardless of the level of course offerings or other educational
opportunities at their schools.
UC sent a series of letters to California school superintendents, high
school principals and counselors in 1999 and 2000, describing the program
and encouraging their participation in it. The university also held a
number of workshops for school officials, developed a Web site for the
ELC program, and publicized the program in newsletters and other materials.
Each high school was asked to submit, by July 15, transcripts for the
top 10 percent of their junior class. The university granted automatic
extensions to July 31 for all who requested one. After receiving the transcripts,
UC evaluated the students' records on the basis of performance in UC-required
courses and extended eligibility for fall 2001 admission to the top 4
percent of students in each school.
Approximately 84 percent of California public high schools submitted
transcripts for the ELC program by the deadline.
Now, UC will write to the 134 California public high schools and 97 accredited
private high schools that did not participate and ask them to forward,
by a postmark date of Jan. 26, a list of the top 4 percent of their students.
Of that group, those students who applied to UC, who are not already otherwise
eligible for UC, and who met the requirements of the ELC program by completing
11 UC-required courses by the end of their junior year will be granted
eligibility for admission.
King said the university is offering this opportunity on a one-time basis,
given that the ELC program is in its first year of implementation. UC
will be conducting a full review of the program's first year to identify
any barriers to schools' participation in the original process and to
make any improvements that would encourage more schools to participate
in future years.
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