College Shorts

UC Schools admit more out-of-state residents

Admissions statistics from The University of California (UC) schools reported the highest ever acceptance rate of non-California residents for next year’s freshmen class.

UC Berkeley accepted the highest percentage of out-of-state students at 31.2 percent, a steep jump from the13.6 percent of out-of-state students admitted in 2009.

The California government’s budget deficit has forced the UC schools to raise revenue. Out-of-state students pay an additional $23,000 in annual tuition.

UC Berkeley Provost George Breslauer explained that "by doubling the number of non-resident students from ten percent to 20 percent of the undergraduate student body, you're keeping the total size of the undergraduate body level. We increase our revenues by $60 million a year."

—   The Huffington Post




UNC transcripts to show more grade info




Beginning next fall, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will publish more information on student transcripts, including the median grade in each course and the student’s percentile ranking relative to peers in their class.

Transcripts will also include a "schedule point average," which will represent the grade-point average for the average student taking the same courses. The average is meant to provide a statistical measurement for the rigor of a student’s schedule and how that student performed compared with others in the same courses.

“This can only help students as an aggregate, because it makes grading information more objective and nonbiased," said Andrew J. Perrin, an associate professor of sociology and chair of the committee putting the new transcript system into effect.

The committee also took aim at grade inflation — faculty will now receive a summary of the grade distribution across all sections of the courses they teach.

—   The Chronicle of Higher Education