The College Fix

Does petition demand admission for unqualified students?

A public university’s revocation of admissions offers to hundreds of applicants has provoked its student government to make a series of demands on behalf of the rejected students.

Unfortunately for those students in limbo, Associated Students of the University of California-Irvine doesn’t appear to have the authority to get involved.

Nearly 500 applicants saw their acceptances for the fall semester rescinded on the grounds of “transcript issues” or poor grades their senior year, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

The surprise revocation prompted a public outcry that included Los Angeles Democratic Congressman Jimmy Gomez. By Tuesday morning, nearly a quarter of rejected students saw their offers reinstated, according to Southern California Public Radio.

While the university portrays its decision as simply enforcing the letter of admissions requirements in the face of a larger-than-expected freshmen class, Associated Students leadership accused the administration of rejecting even applicants with a “completely clean file.”

Students like Ashley Gonzalez give us all hope. @UCIrvine should immediately resolve her admissions & that of other students as well. https://t.co/cf8D68aaj7

— Rep. Jimmy Gomez (@RepJimmyGomez) July 29, 2017

‘Held students more accountable’ than in previous years

UC-Irvine requires high school seniors or recent graduates to meet several requirements in order to qualify for “provisional acceptance.” They include a high school diploma or equivalency, 3.0 senior-year GPA and submission of all official transcripts and test scores by certain July dates.

A university spokesperson told The College Fix that its enforcement of admissions standards in the past was more flexible because the number of students declaring their intention to attend UC-Irvine was more manageable. This summer, however, yielded more than expected, so the university “held students more accountable.”

In a message to prospective students Friday, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Thomas Parham said the university “experienced unprecedented demand” for the 2017-2018 school year, with more than 104,000 applications – “more than all but two colleges nationwide.”

But the rescinded offers are nothing new in a given year, and some of them occur even if students have “legitimate reasons” they didn’t meet admissions requirements, including through the fault of their high schools and teachers, Parham said.

https://twitter.com/_lucyfelix_/status/892490320868278272

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He apologized for not managing the rescission process with “greater care, sensitivity, and clarity about available options,” as well as the university’s “outdated telephone systems,” but not for the stricter enforcement of admissions requirements.

He denied that “over-enrollment” was the reason for the rejections, promising that anyone who meets “the terms and conditions” will be accepted upon appeal.

UC-Irvine’s after-the-fact rejections far outnumbered other UC campuses, according to the Times: UCLA (seven), UC-San Diego (nine) and UC-Davis (about 150 in each of the past two years). About 14 percent more students declared their intent to enroll than UC-Irvine’s expected freshman class.

They dumb af IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE SPACE DON'T ACCEPT SO MANY PEOPLE 🗣 https://t.co/M0Ju9i7YQg

— elizabeth 🖤 (@horanelizabeth_) July 29, 2017

We demand ‘case by case reasoning’ 

The administration’s explanation didn’t fly with Associated Students of UCI, whose executive cabinet released a petition that appears to have been written in a rush and is not entirely clear on its demands.

For example, it seems to demand that the university offer admission to even applicants who objectively fail to meet admissions criteria, after they complete two years of community college. The executive cabinet also demands that “UCI Admissions provides the same provisional requirements as that of the normal admissions requirement,” without defining what the “normal” requirement is.

The petition also demands an official apology for “the inconveniences created by the admissions errors,” release of the number of affected students and a “case by case reasoning” for each withdrawn offer.

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Like housing in California, lots of people want to go to UC, & like housing, CA dumbly doesn't build more UC's https://t.co/DWzf1PgZ5Z

— Dark Bedroom Enjoyer (@VamonosLA) July 30, 2017

It includes several “testimonials” from students whose offers were rescinded, who claim they turned in all required materials on time and that it was hard to get an explanation from the university.

The petition has been signed by about 40 student leaders, 14 “affected” students, nearly 400 current students, more than 30 alumni, 35 identified as “concerned parent/family member” and more than 100 “concerned community member[s].”

The Times cited a “separate student body statement” that also does not appear to have been proofread. It said the “UCI admin has decided to ruin students lives [sic]” and “They NEED to be held accountable for their actions, and they need to know that we will not just sit back and allow them to take advantage of students.”

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https://twitter.com/FB5YS/status/892034541736435713

Governing documents don’t mention admissions

The university spokesperson told The Fix that the student government had questioned and challenged the administration in the past but had never gotten involved in an admissions issue in his 18 years at UC-Irvine.

Associated Students’ governing documents reviewed by The Fix don’t seem to give it the authority to review or weigh in on the admissions process.

Its constitution, bylaws and policy on participation in governance make no mention of admissions. Its constitution contains a single potentially relevant clause: its description for the office of external vice president. That office “seeks to promote student advocacy on a statewide, local and national level in order to ensure the affordability, accessibility, quality and diversity of our University.”

The Fix was unable to reach a representative of Associated Students for an explanation. A receptionist gave The Fix the official email address for the external vice president but said no one was around due to summer vacation.

Asked if admissions standards would be more strongly enforced in the future, the university spokesman said there would be “a comprehensive review process of the admissions process” and that changes would probably be enacted by the 2018-2019 academic year.

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