Questions and Answers
General Questions
1. Why did the Governor eliminate funding for the
Dual Admissions Program (DAP)?
The Dual Admissions Program was funded with an allocation from
the General Fund for outreach activities. In view of the current fiscal
situation, the Governor’s proposed budget eliminated all state funding
for outreach.
2. Will students who applied to
the Dual Admissions Program (DAP) during November 2003 still be able to
attend UC under the program?
While DAP has been eliminated, students who applied to UC through DAP
will be offered admission under UC’s new Guaranteed Transfer Option
(GTO). While GTO has been created to address the Governor’s proposal
to reduce freshman admission by 10 percent and redirect eligible California
resident applicants to California community colleges, it enables UC to
fulfill promises to DAP applicants by offering them a similar admission
option and services as those that have been available to them under DAP.
3. What is the Guaranteed Transfer
Option (GTO) and how does DAP fit into it?
The Guaranteed Transfer Option (GTO) offers guaranteed, deferred enrollment
at a specific UC campuses to qualified California resident freshman applicants
who are not offered admission to any UC campus at the freshman level.
The admitting campuses will provide each GTO student with an academic
contract describing the courses that must be completed and the grades
that must be earned to successfully transfer from the community college
to UC. In addition, these students will have access to UC advising services
to guide their academic progress. The admission letter these students
receive will direct them to a web site that provides detailed information
and personal contacts for questions. In addition, the Governor has proposed
that student who accept a GTO offer of admission will have their California
community college fees waived while they prepare for UC transfer (this
fee waiver has yet to be approved by the Legislature). Qualified DAP applicants
will be offered admission to UC under this new GTO process.
Eligibility and Identification
4. Will students graduating from high school in
2005 have the opportunity to be identified as DAP eligible?
No. Because funding has been eliminated for the Dual Admissions Program
(DAP), there will not be a “DAP path” to UC admission for
the foreseeable future.
5. Is the Eligibility in
the Local Context (ELC) path to UC admission also being eliminated?
UC will continue to identify students for the Eligibility in
the Local Context program.
DAP Admissions
6. If DAP is being eliminated, why have I received
a DAP admission offer?
Although DAP will no longer be an option for high school students considering
a UC education, UC is committed to serving those students who applied
for admission to DAP during the Fall 2004 application cycle. These applicants
will be receiving offers of guaranteed, deferred enrollment from UC campuses
beginning this month. The campuses will provide each of these students
with an academic contract, describing the courses that must be completed
and the grades that must be earned to successfully transfer from the community
college to UC. In addition, these students will have access to UC advising
services to guide their academic progress.
7. I applied to DAP because
of all of the services I would receive while attending community college.
What services will the Guaranteed Transfer Option (GTO) offer?
While the deferred enrollment process you knew as DAP is now called GTO,
the basic elements remain the same. When you accept this offer, you agree
to begin your post secondary education at a California community college
and transfer to our campus when you reach junior standing. You are not
only guaranteed admission to a specific UC and major upon successful completion
of your lower division course requirements, but your campus will provide
you with an academic plan and advising services to ensure your success.
Moreover, the Governor has proposed that all UC students who receive and
accept an offer of deferred enrollment will have their community college
fees waived by the state; this fee waiver must still be approved by the
Legislature.
8. I understand that UC will
be denying admission to eligible freshman applicants due to budget cuts.
Since I applied as a DAP student, why have I been offered freshman admission?
The faculty at some UC campuses want to encourage applicants who are qualified
for admission at the freshman level to consider a four-year UC experience.
However, if you would still prefer to begin your college education at
a California community college, and transfer that campus with a guaranteed
spot at the junior level, you may do so. You will need to contact the
admission office at the campus and indicate to them that, while you have
received a freshman admission offer in response to your DAP application,
you prefer to be admitted under DAP (now known as the Guaranteed Transfer
Option or GTO).
9. I have received a DAP
admission offer, but would rather attend UC as a freshman. Can I change
my application status to be considered for freshman admission?
No. Admission decisions were made based upon the entering class
level status indicated on the student’s application.
Enrollment
10. I looked at the Guaranteed Transfer Option (GTO)
web site and it indicated that this program is for students who were qualified
to attend UC as a freshman. I was not freshman eligible. May I still enroll
in GTO?
Yes. DAP applicants will be served through GTO because the funding for
DAP was eliminated in the Governor’s proposed 2004-05 budget.
11. I applied to UC DAP
for a specific major, but was admitted as an Undeclared student. Does
that mean that I may not pursue the major I had chosen?
Some campuses have found that even students who are confident about the
area of study they want to pursue often end up changing their major. Since
changing majors can require additional courses and lengthen a student's
time to degree, these campuses prefer students complete about 30 semester
units at the community college before declaring a major.
12. I was admitted to UC
DAP in a specific major, but I have changed my mind. How do I change my
major?
Admission into another major as a DAP/GTO student is at the discretion
of the UC campus to which the student has been admitted and is subject
to space constraints at that campus.
Contingencies
13. What if a student does not fulfill the conditions
of the contract?
The student will not be allowed to enroll at a UC campus under
GTO.
14. Can a student refuse
a GTO offer and choose to come to UC as a regular transfer student?
Yes. Moreover, if a student accepts a GTO offer but later decides
not to pursue it, the student may apply as a regular transfer student
to any campus.
15. Can a DAP student also
participate in another UC campus’s regular transfer guarantee program?
Yes, at the discretion of the campus.
16. If a student applies
and is admitted to a four-year institution (vs. summer session courses
or concurrent enrollment), will that void a GTO contract?
The best approach would be to talk to your GTO adviser and have any additional
coursework approved before enrolling. While it may be necessary for a
student to enroll in courses at UC or other four-year institutions to
complete his or her academic contract, regular session enrollment/matriculation
at another four-year institution will invalidate the student's GTO contract.
17. Does a DAP applicant
need to earn a high school diploma?
Yes. Even though the community college will accept a student who has not
completed high school, the GTO opportunity is reserved for students who
have been top achievers in their high school class.
18. What happens if the
state eliminates funding for the Guaranteed Transfer Option (GTO) before
I complete my studies at a California community college?
Once you accept a GTO offer from UC, you are guaranteed admission
as a junior-level transfer student, provided you successfully complete
your GTO contract at a California community college. While additional
funding cuts may hinder UC’s ability to provide personal advising
services, you will find that there are a number of web-based resources
available to guide you to successful transfer to UC.
