The following are changes proposed to Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations.

May 20, 2008

TITLE 5. TRUSTEES OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of Trustees of the California State University proposes to amend Section 41000 of Article 8, Subchapter 2, Chapter 1, Division 5 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations. A public hearing concerning these proposed changes will be held in the Glenn S. Dumke Conference Center at 401 Golden Shore, Long Beach, California 90802-4210 commencing at 8:00 a.m. on July 15, 2008, or as soon thereafter as the business of the Board will permit. Any person interested may present statements orally or in writing relevant to the proposed action at that hearing. Written comments must be received by close of business on July 16, 2008, addressed to Christine Hanson, Office of the Chancellor, 401 Golden Shore, Long Beach, California 90802-4210.

INFORMATIVE DIGEST
Changes are introduced to Title 5 criteria that are used to qualify applicants for admission to a campus as a post-baccalaureate student or graduate student. The proposed revision maintains the requirements that applicants will have completed a baccalaureate degree program and will have been in good academic standing at the last institution attended. Additional criteria will allow admission offices to evaluate eligibility by confirming that the student either holds a graduate degree or has a 2.5 minimum GPA in an acceptable earned baccalaureate degree. The regulations continue to set the minimum criteria for systemwide post-baccalaureate and graduate admissions. Per Title 5 section 41050, campuses may establish more stringent local requirements for post-baccalaureate and graduate admission. Title 5 section 41001 remains in effect and allows admission by special action, as decided by the appropriate campus authority. The greater flexibility afforded by this revision will better serve prospective students, admissions staff, and graduate programs.

COST TO STATE AND LOCAL AGENCIES AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS
The adoption of the proposed amendment and repeal will not impose a cost or savings on any state agency; will not impose a cost or savings on any local agency or school district that is required to be reimbursed under Section 17561 of the Government Code; will not result in any nondiscretionary cost or savings to local agencies; will not result in any cost or savings in federal funding to the state; and will not impose a mandate on local agencies or school districts.

AUTHORITY
The regulations are being amended and deleted pursuant to Sections 66600, 89030 and 89035, Education Code.

REFERENCE
Sections 66600, 89030 and 89035, Education Code.

CONTACT
Inquiries concerning the proposed change may be directed to Dr. Christine Hanson, State University Dean, Academic Program Planning, Office of the Chancellor, California State University, 401 Golden Shore, Long Beach, California 90802-4210 (telephone: 562/951-4672).

Copies of the text, the statement of reasons for and information supporting the proposed amendments, and all information upon which the proposal is based are available for viewing on our internet site (http://www.calstate.edu/Title5/index.shtml), or upon request of Christine Hanson, Office of the Chancellor, 401 Golden Shore, Long Beach, California 90802-4210

Board of Trustees of the California State University

Dated: May 20, 2008
By: Christine Hanson
State University Dean, Academic Program Planning

Title 5, California Code of Regulations
Division 5 -- Board of Trustees of the California State Universities
Chapter 1 -- California State University
Subchapter – 3 Admission Requirements
Article 8 -- Admission of Post-Baccalaureate and Graduate Students

§ 41000. Admission to Post-Baccalaureate Standing: Unclassified

An applicant may be admitted to a campus as an unclassified post-baccalaureate student if the applicant satisfies the requirements of each of the three following lettered subdivisions:

(a) The applicant holds an acceptable baccalaureate degree earned at an institution accredited by a regional accrediting association, or the applicant has completed equivalent academic preparation as determined by the appropriate campus authority.; and

(b) The applicant has satisfied any one of the following three numbered conditions:

(1) The applicant has attained a grade point average of at least 2.5 in an acceptable earned baccalaureate degree,

(2) The applicant has attained a grade point average of at least 2.5 in the last 60 semester units (90 quarter units) attempted.;

(3) The applicant holds an acceptable post-baccalaureate degree earned at an institution accredited by a regional accrediting association;

(c) And the applicant was in good standing at the last college institution of higher education attended.

Current admission standards established by Title 5 Section 41000 require information that may disadvantage some students and that in some cases requires more processing labor than is necessary. The existing regulation requires the evaluation of grades earned in the last 60 semester units (90 quarter units) of coursework from all postsecondary institutions attended (documented by official transcripts). This post-baccalaureate work, though it may be unrelated to a student’s earned degree or intended field of study, may disadvantage students whose baccalaureate preparation would have qualified them for admission to a master’s program but whose post-baccalaureate grades lower their GPA and make them ineligible for admission. Students who have already completed an acceptable graduate degree program may be disadvantaged by grades in postgraduate degree coursework taken for professional or personal development purposes that is unrelated to their intended master’s degree program. Additionally, the campuses incur the cost of staff certifying and reconciling coursework taken at the multiple institutions. Admission decisions are often delayed when evaluators must wait for transcripts to arrive from multiple institutions.

The proposed changes will allow students who have excelled as undergraduates, as evidenced by their overall GPA, to be admitted without any additional computations. The proposed changes continue to provide an option for evaluating nontraditional students by specifying that evaluation of the last 60 semester (90 quarter) post-baccalaureate units will be based on coursework taken in students’ last two years of their baccalaureate careers. Additionally, these proposed changes allow returning students to have access to master’s programs when those students can demonstrate an improved capacity for post-baccalaureate work in their intended field of study. As is the case with other Title 5 criteria specifying minimum standards, individual campuses will have the flexibility to impose more stringent admissions criteria.

As is currently the case with §41000, the revised section will also apply to classified post-baccalaureate standing (§41002), as well as conditionally classified graduate standing

(§ 41010) and classified graduate standing (§ 41011), as each of those policies require that the conditions of §41000 be met.

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