Admissions Procedures, Conditionally Classified and Classified Graduate Standing

To determine admission to its program, a department shall utilize a systematic admissions process of elements chosen from but not limited to, an appropriate combination of the following:

1. an appropriate score (as determined by the academic department ) on the GRE, GMAT, Miller Analogy, or comparable departmentally administered test;
2. a GPA in the last 60 units which is higher than the 2.5 required for admission as an unclassified graduate student (level to be set by the academic department);
3. letters of recommendation;
4. personal statement by the applicant;
5. personal interview.

Departments which use a multiple-componet admissions process must select one of the following methods:

1. develop a rating scale for defining and weighting the criteria used for selection;
2. have a systemic procedure for ranking applications; or
3. prepare a summary evaluation of each admitted and non-admitted student.

Department which use and absolute cut-off score on a standardized test as the basis for admission must take into account the limitations of the instrument with regard to error prediction; and gender, ethnicity, and age biases. Departments may require a standardized admissions test as part of a systematic admission process with out utilizing an absolute cut-off score. Department should prepare guidelines to standardize interview procedures, when used,to insure fairness to applicants.

Each department shall maintain records of admission decisions and subsequent student performance, including but no limited to GPA and success in completing the program, and shall periodically assess the effectiveness of the admissions procedure on this basis. This assessment shall be used by the department to modify and improve its own admissions process. The design of this assessment process should reflect the particular admissions procedures and criteria used by the department, and may consequently use qualitative or quantitative methods, or both.

In no case shall a department adopt a procedure contrary to University policy that would limit an individual's access to graduate education.

Departmental procedures for the admission of graduate students shall be explicit, certified by Graduate Studies Committee, and monitored by the Dean of Academic Programs and Graduate Studies.

Updated August 17, 1998 by SSU.policies@sonoma.edu