The UC Academic Senate will decide whether or not to recommend reinstating standardized testing requirements for undergraduate admissions by June 2027, the UC Board of Regents announced Tuesday.
UC Regents Chair Maria Anguiano announced the decision during its July meeting at UC San Francisco.
“The goal of this review is not to rehash old questions or data but an opportunity to take a fresh look at how we define and evaluate college readiness in a rapidly changing world,” Anguiano said at the meeting.
The UC Board of Admissions and Relations, which advises the University president on undergraduate admissions policy, rescinded its original timeline for considering whether the University should reinstate standardized testing for first-year admissions on Friday. The UC paused its standardized testing requirements in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and later stopped considering scores in admissions altogether.
[Related: UC board rescinds original timeline to reconsider SAT, ACT in admissions]
The board announced in June that it would create two work groups during the 2026-27 academic year to consider reinstating the SAT and ACT, after 600 faculty members urged the UC in a May letter to bring back standardized testing requirements. Faculty alleged that students’ math preparation had declined since the University stopped accepting test scores.
More than 2,300 faculty have signed the letter as of July 2, according to its website.
[Related: UC faculty board reconsiders standardized testing policy amid readiness concerns]
Social sciences and humanities faculty also released a separate letter calling on the University to consider verbal reasoning portions of the SAT and ACT, which had earned 900 signatures as of July 2.
[Related: Hundreds of UC faculty call to reinstate SAT, ACT requirements for STEM applicants]
Multiple speakers addressed standardized testing – some in favor of reinstating it and others against – during public comment before the announcement.
Ahmet Palazoglu, the chair of the Academic Senate, said at the meeting that a review of the UC’s admissions policies is overdue.
“In responding to the ongoing challenges with defining and assessing students’ college readiness, the Senate promises to hear the spectrum of voices, consider the available evidence and arrive at policy decisions that are robust and sound,” he said at the meeting.
The Senate is also examining the role of A-G requirements, which mandate that applicants complete certain high school courses with a grade of C or higher, Anguiano said at the meeting.
UC President James Milliken said at the meeting that while the Academic Senate’s review should be thorough, it should also be done in a timely manner.
“These are consequential questions about how to best prepare California’s students for success at the world’s leading public research university and to continue to fulfill our responsibility to the people of this state,” he said at the meeting. “That is the fiduciary responsibility this Board owes the people of California, and it is important that we get these decisions right.”
