Students relying on the transfer deal that requires a 2.4 grade point average to transfer to UCSB will need to earn better grades for acceptance into the university.
As part of a plan by the University of California to standardize guaranteed transfer agreements with all state community colleges, the special deal between City College and UCSB will end.
“City College’s agreement will be the same as the agreements from all other community colleges,” said Christine Van Gieson, director of admissions at UCSB.
The impending change will mean that City College students who graduated from local high schools will now need a minimum grade point average of 2.8, no longer a 2.4, to be accepted as upper-division students after completing City College classes. The regular course completion requirements will not change and those who graduated from Dos Pueblos, San Marcos, Bishop Garcia Diego, Carpinteria and Santa Barbara high schools are the only ones at City College who will be affected.
One of the reasons for the decision was that openings for students into the College of Letters and Science, the college of UCSB that City College’s deal was made with, were becoming more and more contested, Gieson said,
“It was felt that with competition for admission becoming more fierce, we wanted to give everyone from the state the same chance,” she said.
Kathie Adams, admissions director at City College said the decision, which she has known about for a year, gives her concern because it might restrict access to the university for some students.
“We would prefer the doors stay open,” she said. “Would I love it if SBCC still had the transfer agreement? Heck yeah.”
Mitchell Adams, a first year at City College said he’s worried about how the changes will affect him as a DSPS student with learning abilities. He figured that with the special agreement he could use UCSB as a backup plan if he does not get acceptance elsewhere. He mentioned that while earning above a 2.8 will be difficult for him, there could be a plus side.
“It’s probably going to force me to buckle down and work harder,” he said.
Unfortunately for students with disabilities, UCSB has no special provisions for them, said Kathie Adams.
“The expectation is that students with disabilities still have to perform at a level that makes them competitive,” she said.
She also mentioned that at the same time that some students might suffer, the change is not going to affect a large number of students with transfer goals.
“Only a handful of students each year were admitted solely on the agreement,” she said. “The loss of the local agreement will not translate into an immediate drop.”
