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Yikes! UC Irvine rescinds 499 offers of admission


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I just read that University of California rescinded 499 offers of admission because they drastically underestimated how many students would accept their offer of admission.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-uc-irvine-rescissions-20170728-story.html

The official reason the University gives is that these students didn't turn in all their documents in time or didn't keep up their GPA's senior year. Yet in the article, several admits say they did in fact send in the required documents. This is just poor planning by UCI. I hope the publicity helps these students get readmitted.

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Yikes, indeed.  Unlike incidents in the past, where universities have sent out offers to candidates they didn't intend to admit, this seems like a yield management failure.

 

Yield management seems like such a dark art to me.  If a school needs to fill an incoming class of 1,000 students, and historically, 50% of those admitted end up enrolling, well, the school can't admit 1,000 and hope to fill the rest from the wait list.  Relying on previous years seems dangerous, as a lot can change from year to year.  I wonder if they'll start to follow the airline model, and offer to "bump" accepted students in exchange for money...

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Yikes, indeed.  Unlike incidents in the past, where universities have sent out offers to candidates they didn't intend to admit, this seems like a yield management failure.

 

Yield management seems like such a dark art to me.  If a school needs to fill an incoming class of 1,000 students, and historically, 50% of those admitted end up enrolling, well, the school can't admit 1,000 and hope to fill the rest from the wait list.  Relying on previous years seems dangerous, as a lot can change from year to year.  I wonder if they'll start to follow the airline model, and offer to "bump" accepted students in exchange for money...

 

Yeah, why didn't they offer to defer them until spring semester?  They could give them the option to enroll in a CC for fall and still be considered a freshman in January.  Surely there were better ways to correct their mistake.  Not quite to the same level, but U.Ga. does not have enough freshman housing, and freshmen are required to live on campus, so they offered substantial cash payments (thousands of dollars) to local'ish freshmen who would agree to live at home or off campus.  I am so glad to not have to navigate the UC system or, for that matter, anything in California.  

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The UCs are known for rescinding this late in the game, it's just that it has never happened at this scale before.

 

When students send their applications, they self report grades and classes. When applicants receive their admission, this is still subject to conditions such a as keeping a minimum 3.0 GPA, no Ds or Fs senior year, no dropping academic rigor, etc. The university then does a review of the official transcript sometime in July. This is when the rescission can and does happen. What is unusual this year with UCI is the sheer number and reasons. I expect the kids with transcripts not received will probably still end up at UCI, but those with academic deficiencies will have to go to community college this year.

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My son is going to UCI in the fall. In the Facebook group he's in for admitted students a few kids started posting about being rescinded, and then a few more, and then suddenly it felt like hundreds of kids were posting. It was quite traumatic for these students. Although some of the students did not meet the academic requirements, many of them did but their transcripts weren't received on time or they were lost. UCI was also overwhelmed by the number of students in this freshman class and they dropped the ball in regards to communicating about whether transcripts had been received or not. I will say that the students banded together really quickly and took action. It seems that many of these kids have been re-admitted already which is great. But it was very distressing for everyone involved and not a great way to start the year. 

Edited by Jilly
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I just saw this over on CC, a statement from the UCI chancellor  https://news.uci.edu/2017/08/02/message-from-uci-chancellor-about-current-admission-issues/
 

Irvine, Calif., Aug. 2, 2017 — Chancellor Howard Gillman is issuing the following statement regarding current admissions issues at the University of California, Irvine:

 
The stories of our students whose college dreams were crushed by our decision to withdraw admissions to hundreds of students are heartbreaking. And unacceptable.
 
This process is not working. We are a university recognized for advancing the American Dream, not impeding it. This situation is rocking us to our core because it is fundamentally misaligned with our values.
 
I must step in and change our direction. Effective immediately, all students who received provisional acceptances into UCI will be fully admitted, except those whose transcripts clearly indicate that they did not meet our academic standards. Those standards are: No Ds or Fs their senior year; a senior-year grade point average of at least 3.0; completion of all A-G requirements outlined by the University of California; and required test scores as indicated on the students’ admission portals.
 
Even for students whose transcripts show that these requirements were not met, we will establish an expedited process to allow students to make the case for extenuating circumstances, and otherwise will work with students to identify other possible pathways into the university.
 
We’re trying to understand how we under-estimated the number of students who planned to enroll this fall. We’re also trying to understand why we chose to notify students in an insensitive way or couldn’t answer their telephone calls adequately. I intend to find out so this will never happen again. I directed our internal auditor to review the admissions process and suggest areas for improvement. I plan to have a preliminary report within 60 days.
 
In closing, the students and their families have my personal, sincerest apology. We should not have treated you this way over a missed deadline.
 
We will welcome all of our wonderful students who worked so hard to satisfy the requirements for UCI admission, and as we move forward we will do everything we can to earn the trust and loyalty of our community.

 

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