Academic Senate (with aerial photo of campus in background)
Photograph © 2003 by Alan Nyiri, courtesy of the Atkinson Photographic Archive.

Committee on Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools (CUARS)

Next Meeting: June 13, 2008, 2325 Murphy Hall From 12pm to 2pm

Committee Members

Meeting Schedule 2007-2008
Day Date Time Location
Friday October 26, 2007 1:00pm - 3:00pm 3135 Murphy
Friday November 16, 2007 1:00pm - 3:00pm 3135 Murphy
Friday December 14, 2007 1:00pm - 3:00pm 3135 Murphy
Friday January 18, 2008 1:00pm - 3:00pm 3135 Murphy
Friday February 15, 2008 1:00pm - 3:00pm A-244 Murphy
Friday March 14, 2008 1:00pm - 3:00pm 3135 Murphy
Friday April 11, 2008 1:00pm - 3:00pm 3135 Murphy
Friday May 9, 2008 1:00pm - 3:00pm 2325 Murphy
Friday June 13, 2008 12:00pm - 2:00pm 2325 Murphy

Committee Charge

CUARS advises the Office of Admissions and the Chancellor's Office on matters pertaining to undergraduate admissions policy and helps formulate guidelines for admission to be used during the admission process. In order to learn what is involved in making actual admissions decisions, committee members read some student applications during the regular Winter Quarter selection process.

CUARS establishes the comprehensive review parameters for selecting UCLA admittees from the larger pool of those who are UC eligible, while policies concerning admissibility to the University of California are made by the Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS), the officers of the University, the Regents, and the voters of the state. Office of Undergraduate Admissions (UARS) makes the actual decisions with CUARS oversight. In addition, CUARS serves the Admissions Office as a conduit for faculty concerns and a reservoir of classroom experience, advising the Admissions Office about such matters as outreach efforts directed at the high schools and qualifications needed for success in particular disciplines.

Membership

The committee consists of eight faculty, one faculty is also a member of the UC Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS), and two undergraduate student representatives.

Issues, Concerns, Goals

Comprehensive Reviews. CUARS in consultation with BOARS has recommended that UCLA move to a system of comprehensive review of all applications for entry into the freshman class since Fall 2002. The review plan removed the previous Regents policy imposing a two-tiered system of admissions in which a certain percentage of each years class was admitted on the basis of academic criteria alone. In the comprehensive review system, the evaluation of each student is based on 14 academic and non-academic criteria.

Holistic Review. The Committee recommended the adoption of a holistic approach to Comprehensive Review for Fall 2007 admissions. The purpose of a holistic review is to give a rigorous, individualized, and qualitative assessment of each applicant’s entire dossier. It is to ensure that academic reviews are based on a wide range of criteria including classroom performance, motivation to seek challenges, and the rigor of the curriculum within the context of high school opportunities. During 2007-08, CUARS will be reviewing and evaluating the freshman selection criteria used in the new holistic admissions process.

Access and Diversity. The UC Office of the President in cooperation with BOARS and the campus CUARS committees, have enacted several plans for opening access to the University of California to under-served regions and populations within the state. These plans have included the Eligibility in a Local Context and Dual Admissions programs. The first of these has been implemented and CUARS will continue to monitor its progress. The implementation of Dual Admissions has been postponed for lack of funding in this year’s state budget. The Regent’s have repealed SP1, but Proposition 209 still prevents UCLA and other UC campuses from competing effectively with other highly selective schools in the recruitment of high-performing underrepresented minority students. At present, the most critical issue for the Committee is the low and declining proportion of underrepresented minority students in the freshman admission pool.

Outreach. The Committee has discussed many of the successful outreach programs already in place and has contemplated others. We need to continue to build upon established relations with schools to ensure that more underrepresented K–12 students are eligible for admission to UCLA.

Also, please refer to relevant appendices.

The Committee meets once every month.

Chair: Sylvia Hurtado, Education, shurtado@gseis.ucla.edu
Senate Staff Contact: Judith Lacertosa, Principle Policy Analyst, 310-825-1194, jlacertosa@senate.ucla.edu

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