September 4, 2003
UW announces new transfer admissions agreement
The University of Washington, Seattle, today announced a new transfer admissions agreement with the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC).
Since 1988 UW Seattle has agreed to offer admission to all residents of the state who complete a Washington community college Associate of Arts or Sciences degree with a 2.75 or better grade point average (GPA), and who transfer directly to the University after graduation. (On average, transfers enrolling at the UW have a 3.30 GPA.)
The number of students qualifying for admissions under the direct transfer admissions agreement has been increasing at a faster rate than the number of new enrollment spaces funded by the state legislature, and the University can no longer guarantee admissions to all such students. The University, however, will continue to observe the “proportionality agreement” which specifies that at least 30 percent of the new undergraduates enrolled annually will come from Washington community and technical colleges.
To provide advanced notice to students enrolled in Washington community and technical colleges, the University will honor the former agreement for students who complete their associate degrees no later than spring quarter 2004, and who apply for either summer or autumn quarters 2004. Associate degree holders completing their degrees after spring 2004, and those with degrees who apply for admission to a quarter after autumn 2004 will be reviewed comprehensively with no promise of admission.
The University of Washington, Seattle, was overenrolled last year (2002-03) by about 1,400 undergraduates or 6.3 percent, and efforts are underway to reduce enrollments to state-funded levels. Reducing the number of newly admitted undergraduates is only one aspect of the University’s comprehensive enrollment-balancing strategy. Other efforts include eliminating barriers that might delay degree completion and encouraging current students to complete their degrees in a timely way.
For autumn quarter 2003, applications were received from 1,938 community college transfer agreement applicants, and there is room for only 1,100 to enroll. The remaining applicants have been offered admission to either winter or spring quarters 2004. The University expects that several hundred students who complete their associate degrees in spring quarter 2004, and apply to autumn quarter 2004, will be deferred to winter and spring quarters 2005.
The new transfer admissions agreement, approved by UW Acting Provost David Thorud and Executive Director of the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, Earl Hale, reaffirms the University’s commitment to Washington community college transfer students and outlines the elements that will be considered in the new admissions process. The autumn quarter application closing date has been moved from April 15 to Feb. 15 to allow time for the more extensive comprehensive review process.
A letter detailing the transfer admission changes has been sent to state post-secondary education leaders, along with a copy of the new transfer agreement. See http://www.washington.edu/students/uga/tr/advisers/ for the full text of the letter and the agreement. For more information contact Tim Washburn, assistant vice president for enrollment services, at timwash@u.washington.edu or 206-543-3511.
