The Role of the University of California Academic Senate in Admissions Policy: Establishing Working Rules

This policy brief was prepared for the University of California Academic Senate and provides a general outline of the future role of the Senate's Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS) in setting universitywide undergraduate admissions policy. BOARS has the prerogative to act as the "lead agency" in this important area of educational policy, subject to the actions of the Regents, and recognizing the purview of the President and the Chancellors in coordinating the administrative process of selection and setting general enrollment limits, and the need to consult with the Vice President for Student Affairs and campus admissions officers. The term "lead agency" reflects the concept that admissions is an area of shared responsibility with the administration, and that other entities, including the office of the Assistant Vice President for Students Affairs, are crucial to implementing the admissions process. Yet it is important to separate the administrative tasks from educational policy issues. This brief provides a set of proposed "working rules" and an outline of university policies in the area of undergraduate admissions.