Campus Groups Mobilizing to Prevent Rising UC Eligibility Standards
I recently received an e-mail that was forwarded to me discussing plans to mobilize against efforts by the Regents to raise the eligibility requirements for UC schools. Here is the main point of the e-mail: [all typos in quoted material left there for comedic effect]

If you have not heard the UC Board of Regents will vote on a proposal WED. JULY 14th which would change the eligibility requirements. The major one of them being to change the requirements from a 2.8 to a 3.1, in a 4.0 scale. Ofcourse we and they know which communities this will affect. WE CANNOT LET THIS HAPPEN.

We are trying to organize a good number of students, alumni and staff to go to the meeting on Wednesday, we are asking to pospone teh vote until September, so students can mobilize and have their voices heard.

The e-mail also contains an example of a form letter that people are asked to modify and then pass on to the Regents. To download a copy of the form letter, click here. To see the report by the Regents that contains the recommendation to increase the GPA eligibility requirement, click here (warning, PDF).

The original author of this e-mail appears to be from the "Students for Access to Education," which does not have a website. The e-mail also mentions "The place where I work GREENLINING INSTITUTE will provide trasportation aswell as the External VP office of the ASUC."

My thoughts on this:
1. This move by the Regents gives credence to an idea already discussed on Calstuff; creating a three-tiered system within the UC with different admission standards for each UC.

2. There should be some room to allow for people whose success in school is not entirely reflected in their GPA or who have other circumstances in their life. Someone who ended up with a 3.0 GPA (a B) due to the time they spent caring for younger siblings or some other hardship, but who still managed to receive high SAT scores (let's say above a 1400) as well as a wrote a great admission essay should not be denied entrance to UC Riverside or UC Merced without even being considered based on their 3.0 GPA.

3. Finally, I think there should be major efforts to raise the reputation and educational opportunities at CSU schools. By increasing funding at these schools they would become more desirable universities to attend, and that might allow there to be more rigorous standards at the UC's if there were still good alternatives for people to attend who did not get into a UC. Email This Post!