The Los Angeles Times reports that the University of California is relaxing its admission requirements for fall 2020.

The UC system announced Wednesday that it will greatly ease some admission requirements for the upcoming fall 2020 semester/quarter. University of California says the Coronavirus has been a "grave disruption" to school schools, calling for maximum flexibility in evaluating student admissions.

The admission flexibility includes eliminating SAT test score and minimum grade requirements. The Los Angeles Times adds that this move was authorized by UC Board of Regents leaders. The admissions ease will impact more than 200,000 prospective freshmen and transfer students who apply annually to the UC system's nine undergraduate campuses.

According to the Times, UC President Janet Napolitano said the following in a statement:

“The COVID-19 outbreak is a disaster of historic proportions disrupting every aspect of our lives, including education for high school students, among others. The University’s flexibility at this crucial time will ensure prospective students aiming for UC get a full and fair shot — no matter their current challenges.”

The report continues that prospective 2020 students may not meet UC admission requirements this year because high schools and junior/community colleges have shifted to online instructions, many implementing a pass/fail grading systems or reduced course offerings.

In addition, standardized test scores may be difficult to obtain because testing dates are being canceled/postponed for many required tests, including the SAT and ACT, high school exit exams and, for international students, evaluations of English-language proficiency.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the modifications to admission requirements include:

Suspending the letter grade requirement for the 15 prescribed college-preparatory courses completed in winter/spring/summer 2020 for all students, including UC’s most recently admitted freshmen.
Suspending the standardized test requirement for students applying for fall 2021 freshman admission.
No rescission of student admissions offers that result from students or schools missing official final transcript deadlines. Also, admission will be honored through the first day of class until official documents are received by campuses.
For transfer students, temporarily suspending the cap on the number of transferable units with Pass/No Pass grading applied toward the minimum 60 semester/90 quarter units required for junior standing.

For more on the UC campus admissions changes due to Coronavirus, Read the full story on LATimes.com.

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