‘The health of our students, staff, and faculty is of paramount importance and guides our planning process.’ UCLA Newsroom | June 15, 2020UCLA will begin to offer a number of in-person, on-campus courses, as well as limited on-campus student housing, for the 2020–21 academic year, according to plans shared today by Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Emily Carter. To maintain safety, strict infection-control procedures and daily symptoms checks will be required for everyone coming to and living on campus. “The health of our students, staff, and faculty is of paramount importance and guides our planning process,” Carter wrote. “As previously announced, the UCLA COVID-19 Future Planning Task Force has been hard at work, identifying options and recommendations for the fall. I appreciate their thoughtful work, the options they presented, and their recommendations.” The plan’s key points: Courses UCLA anticipates that 15% to 20% of courses will be offered on site or in an on-site and remote hybrid format. These include, but are not limited to, some laboratory courses, some performing arts classes and some courses in clinical health fields, as well as other classes that would be difficult to offer remotely. A list of all courses to be offered for fall 2020 will be available June 17 through the schedule of classes and MyUCLA; the list will identify which courses will be conducted completely remotely, which will be offered on site, and which will be hybrid. Further information about fall 2020 classes and instruction will be available on the Registrar’s Office COVID-19 FAQ page. Housing On-campus housing will be provided at a lower population density to a limited number of students, with some rooms set aside for quarantine or isolation. Housing offers for the academic year will be prioritized based on a variety of factors, including students’ financial need for affordable housing, the distance of a student’s primary residence from campus, and the enrollment preferences of third- and fourth-year students who may wish to take courses or participate in other activities offered on campus. UCLA also aims to offer housing to as many first-year students as feasible; some of these offers will be determined by lottery. UCLA Housing will reach out to students regarding available accommodations by June 29. More information and details about the factors used to determine eligibility are available at this Housing FAQ page. Health and safety Recommended infection-control procedures will be in place on campus, including physical distancing, de-densifying classrooms and other spaces, frequent cleaning of classrooms and facilities, and the wearing of face coverings while on campus, consistent with guidance from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. In addition, daily symptom checks will be required for everyone coming to campus or living in campus housing. Testing and contact tracing protocols for COVID-19 will also be in place. Other activities UCLA will continue to offer a wide range of student and campus life activities, as well as co-curricular programming, both remotely and in-person, with proper physical distancing and in accordance with public health guidelines. For international students, the Dashew Center will be available to answer questions related to I-20, F-1 or J-1 status and work authorization issues. questions. Given the constantly evolving situation with COVID-19, some or all of these plans could change based on public health recommendations, campus leaders noted. “We must remain flexible and ready to pivot,” Carter said. “UCLA is collaborating closely with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, which has been providing valuable guidance at every step of this process.”
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System leaders express their support of the decision and thanks to those who helped in the fight Demonstrators stand outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 12, 2019, the date of oral arguments in Department of Homeland Security, et al. v. Regents of the University of California, et al. UC Office of the President | June 18, 2020University of California President Janet Napolitano, all 10 UC chancellors and John A. Pérez, chair of the UC Board of Regents, sent a message to the entire UC community expressing their support for the Supreme Court decision issued June 18 upholding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy. To the UC community: We write to you on a historic day for the University of California, for our nation, and for the hundreds of thousands of DACA recipients across the country who live, work, and study in our communities. UC was the first university in the nation to file a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s proposed rescission of DACA. Over the past three years, we have worked together to advance our case through the courts and to advocate for DACA recipients on every front. And today, our collective efforts paid off. We applaud the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the administration’s arbitrary attempt to end a policy that has enabled some 650,000 immigrants – brought to the U.S. as children – to live and work in the only country they know as home. Today, we send our sincerest thanks to the individuals from the University who submitted declarations establishing the factual record for our case, to UC Legal and other UC staff who worked tirelessly for almost three years to pursue and support this litigation, all of the other plaintiffs who took a risk by stepping forward, the legal team at Covington & Burling for providing pro bono support, and all of you for standing with us in support of undocumented members of the UC community. As UC leaders, we’ve heard from many students, staff, and their families about the impact of DACA on their lives. DACA recipients in the UC community come from a wide range of countries, yet many of them shared similar stories: the initial joy and relief of being able to study and work in this country legally, without fear of deportation; the despair of learning that their immigration status might keep them from pursuing academic or professional opportunities if DACA protections were rescinded; and the anxiety about whether their DACA application would be used against them or their loved ones. These people – their hopes and their potential – were at the heart of the University’s lawsuit challenging the rescission of DACA. At every step in our case, we were acutely aware of the tangible, harmful impacts of ending the DACA policy on the lives of these individuals and their families, and on the communities where they are valued contributors. Today’s decision is a hard-won victory for these DACA recipients, their families, and our whole community. It is a victory for justice and due process. And it is a victory for what is legal, and what is right. The Court today has held that the government must properly account for its decisions and cannot simply act on a whim. But it’s also important to remember that more work remains to be done, and we need you to stand with us. The UC community must speak with one voice in calling on Congress to pass legislation to permanently protect DACA recipients and provide a path to citizenship. We must stand together to demand comprehensive immigration reform that would bring stability and certainty to families, workers, businesses, and communities across the nation. And we must speak out for our most fundamental values of diversity, inclusion, compassion, and justice. At the University of California, we will continue to vigorously defend the privacy and civil rights of undocumented students and all of our community members, and to provide free legal services through the UC Immigrant Legal Services Center and dedicated undocumented student centers on our campuses. UC will never remain silent when unlawful actions threaten our students and community members. We are so grateful for all of you who have joined with us to ensure that UC remains a safe and welcoming place – and a beacon of opportunity – for all. Yours very truly, Janet Napolitano President, University of California John A. Pérez Chair, Board of Regents Gene D. Block Chancellor, UCLA Nathan Brostrom Chancellor, UC Merced Carol T. Christ Chancellor, UC Berkeley Howard Gillman Chancellor, UC Irvine Sam Hawgood Chancellor, UCSF Pradeep Khosla Chancellor, UC San Diego Cynthia Larive Chancellor, UC Santa Cruz Gary S. May Chancellor, UC Davis Kim Wilcox Chancellor, UC Riverside Henry T. Yang Chancellor, UC Santa Barbara PHOTO: PHOTO: CAROLYN JONES/EDSOURCE Q:Are California’s colleges and universities closed for instruction?
A: In general, all California’s colleges are now closed for most in-person instruction until the end of the school year. All of the state’s public colleges and universities will continue to offer classes online through the summer. Because of California’s size, and the number of different colleges, there are many differences in exact schedules and how instruction will be offered. It is best to consult with the websites of individual campuses. At all nine University of California undergraduate campuses and at all 23 California State University campuses, courses have been moved to virtual modes. Many of those universities initially said some courses that are difficult to transition to online learning, such as lab classes, would continue to meet face-to-face, but even those classes are now being moved online. All of the community college system’s 114 traditional colleges have suspended many of their in-person classes and transitioned as many as possible online. Regarding lab classes and other courses that are difficult to transition online, the California Community Colleges’guidance to colleges states: “Colleges are moving to using simulation software or looking at simulation software in place of in-person training. Colleges that are still offering in-person training will practice local or state social distancing guidelines.” Q: When will colleges reopen for in-person instruction? A: Most classes across the California State University system will continue to be held online through the fall because of the spread of the coronavirus, Chancellor Tim White said in May. Keeping classes online is necessary because of “evolving data surrounding the progression” of the virus, White said during a CSU trustee meeting, alluding to public health experts forecasting further waves of the virus later this year. He left the door open, however, to resuming some in-person classes “as circumstances might allow.” The University of California will allow some or all of its 10 campuses to partly reopen in the fall if widespread testing and tracing for the coronavirus gets underway, all students and faculty wear face coverings and physical distancing is kept. Decisions will be made by individual campuses and labs during June, with some variation among them likely, officials said A handful of community colleges have announced that most of their classes will be online in the fall. At a California community colleges’ board of trustees meeting in May, Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley endorsed the decision already made by some of the state’s community colleges to continue remote instruction come fall. Q: What resources are available to professors and instructors who are unfamiliar with teaching online? A: A vast amount of material and tools are available for online instruction, which most colleges have offered in some form already, although not to the extent that they will be called on to offer in the coming months. Some colleges are more prepared than others for this transition. Some colleges and universities are providing their own webinars and training sessions to help their instructors make the transition to online instruction. The challenge will be greatest for faculty with little or no experience with distance learning. Many digital learning experts are offering advice and tools online. Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education has a collection of resources and tips for educators and families, including college instructors transitioning from the classroom to at-home learning. Educause, an education technology association, offers some advice for professors transitioning quickly from face-to-face instruction online. The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University also offers some advice. And two new Facebook groups have emerged to help teachers and professors share ideas and strategies for transitioning their classrooms from in-person to online: Teaching in the Time of Corona: Resources and Pandemic Pedagogy. Q: Will college students be able to receive refunds for their dorm and dining plans? What about tuition and fees? A: Universities and colleges say that students who left their dorms can receive prorated refunds for their housing and food plans, along with rebates for campus recreation and parking fees in some cases. Students in private, off-campus housing are unlikely to receive rental rebates if their leases are still in force. As for tuition, nearly 50,000 people have signed a petition to persuade the University of California system to provide a partial tuition refund. “We pay money for going to classes, seeing professors and having one to one meetings during office hours,” said Rose Oganesian, a UC Irvine freshman who organized the petition. However, spokespersons for both UC and California State University insist that online classes are worth the value of full tuition and that the universities will not reduce or refund a portion of students’ tuition costs. Lawsuits have been filed in other states demanding tuition refunds. Lawyers representing students from the CSU and UC systems filed a federal lawsuit in April demanding refunds for fees paid for the Spring 2020 academic term. The fees typically cover campus gyms, health facilities, student centers and activities. UC officials declined to comment on the lawsuit. A CSU spokesman said campuses have been open and offering services to students even though courses were moved online and that they would “vigorously defend against the lawsuit.” Q: How can students access emergency financial aid Congress approved in the coronavirus stimulus funding to colleges? A: The state’s colleges and universities are getting more than $1.7 billion to help fight the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Each college is required to use at least half of the amount they receive to provide emergency grants and financial aid to students to help them with expenses because of the coronavirus. Those expenses can include a wide range such as health care, child care, food, living expenses or computers. Each campus determines who can access the funding and some are developing applications so students can apply for the aid. However, some students, who do not typically qualify for federal financial aid, will not be able to receive these emergency grants, such as undocumented students or those who primarily enrolled in online courses prior to the pandemic. The California Community Colleges are suing the U.S. Department of Education over eligibility requirements the federal agency placed on coronavirus emergency student aid. Search the EdSource database to learn how much each college or university in California and nationwide is slated to receive. Q: What about the additional funding colleges and universities are due to receive in the coronavirus stimulus law? The other half of the $1.7 billion that Congress gave to California colleges and universities can be used by these institutions for expenses directly related to the disruption of campus operations because of the pandemic. “Institutions will be able to use these funds to cover costs associated with significant changes to the delivery of instruction due to the coronavirus,” the department said. Q: What about upcoming commencement/graduation ceremonies? A: All four-year public universities have now postponed or canceled in-person commencement ceremonies. That includes each of the California State University’s 23 campuses and all nine of the University of California’s undergraduate campuses. UC San Diego was the final public four-year university in the state to make the change. It announced on April 30 that it would conduct commencement ceremonies virtually. But like several other universities that will be holding virtual ceremonies, UC San Diego says that the virtual ceremony won’t replace the traditional in-person ceremonies, which will be held at a later date when the threat of the virus subsides. As for the state’s community colleges, the system’s chancellor, Eloy Ortiz Oakley, has said commencements will need to be canceled, postponed or conducted virtually. Q: What about students who were planning on spending some or all of next year at an international program? Are those programs still planning on being open? A: This is an evolving situation and you should consult the website of the programs you hope to participate in. All UC Education Abroad Programs for this summer have been canceled. No announcement has been made regarding fall programs. CSU says it has suspended all its study abroad programs but has not made any announcement regarding summer or fall programs. Q: How are high school seniors being affected in terms of making a decision about what college they will attend? A: High school seniors headed to universities usually have until May 1 to make tuition deposits and commit to the school that they will attend in the fall, but the spread of the coronavirus could make those decisions more difficult. So some deadlines have been extended. Some universities have already canceled their admitted student days when prospective students are invited to campus for a day of events to learn more about the college. Universities also have suspended campus tours. Virtual meetings and tours are now commonplace. At the University of California system, the deposit deadline for incoming freshmen was May 1. But officials promised flexibility in hardship cases. The California State University system has so far announced no across the board plans, but eight CSU campuses have announced plans to delay deposit deadlines to June 1. Those include CSU’s Cal Poly Pomona, Channel Islands, Chico, Dominguez Hills, Humboldt, San Bernardino, San Francisco and San Marcos campuses. As for other Cal State campuses, the chancellor’s office left it up to each campus to determine whether to delay the May 1 deadline, said Toni Molle, a spokeswoman for the system’s chancellor’s office. Q: Is there any assistance available for repaying federal student loans? A: For non-students who are paying back federal loans, or if you have chosen to pay off your loans while you are in college, you can suspend your payments for six months as part of the $2 trillion economic stimulus package signed by President Trump. Because of the impact of the coronavirus, interest rates on some federally held student loans will automatically be set at zero percent for 6 months, as well. Borrowers won’t have to worry about accruing interest if they choose to suspend their payments. Borrowers also can continue making payments. The full payment would go toward the principal balance of the loan. However, the new stimulus law doesn’t apply to every type of federal loan. It excludes loans that are guaranteed by the government, but not held by it, for example, Federal Family Education Loans don’t qualify. Q: Will faculty still be expected to work? A: Yes. Most classes are being converted to online instruction, so faculty will still teach their courses via Zoom, Canvas and other remote methods. Q: What if I don’t have internet access, or not reliable access, at my home? A: For students who are enrolled at a community college but don’t have internet access at home, the system’s guidance to students notes that several internet providers are offering free or reduced-cost internet access. Go here for more information on those services. Community college students who don’t have a computer or other device to take classes online should check with their local college for possible laptop loan programs, according to the guidance. Students who attend a four-year university and don’t have internet at home should check in with officials at their universities. Students at California State University or University of California campuses have the option of remaining on campus, where there is internet. Q: What am I expected to do if I am unable to live with my family during this period? A: Many public colleges and universities across the state are continuing to provide housing and dining for students who are unable to leave, like international students or those who lack stable homes like foster care students or others who risk becoming homeless if they leave campus. Most of these campuses will continue to provide housing and dining services through the summer for students who have a need, such as former foster youth or students who face homelessness. The availability and type of campus housing continues to vary by campus. The types of meal service available for students who remain on campus is specific to the particular campus, said Toni Molle, a CSU system spokeswoman. Some campuses have set up “grab and go” take-out style or boxed meals, she said. UC system officials said housing and services will vary by campus this summer and students should contact their local officials for details. Q: Will mental health and other support services normally offered by my college be available during this transitional period? A: Some on-campus counseling and mental health offices have closed, but are offering video and phone visits. Counseling and psychological services at CSU Long Beach, for example, remain available by phone. Some services like UC San Diego Health remain open for students who need urgent care. In general, students should check with the counseling and student support service offices on their campuses, and take advantage of whatever options are offered during this difficult time. Campus health centers, mental health counseling and other student services such as academic advising will continue to operate via tele-health or online through the summer sessions at CSU campuses, according to a spokesperson for the system. Q: Will students still get the same financial aid they were receiving before? A: Students’ financial aid situations will vary from person to person and campus to campus but they will continue to have access to financial aid advisers and counselors online or by phone. The Federal Student Aid Office advises students to contact their school if they have questions. If a campus moves classes from in-person to online, students should continue to participate so they can remain eligible for financial aid. There are different requirements for maintaining federal and state financial aid and grants. Students should consult with their financial aid offices for how changes made on their campus will impact their financial aid. Students who receive community college promise grants should work with their local campus to determine if any actions are needed to retain those grants, according to the community college chancellor’s office. Some colleges may continue to pay Federal Work-Study wages to students if their campus temporarily closes due to the coronavirus pandemic and they’re unable to work, or if because of the crisis they were laid off from their off-campus work-study job. Q: Has any admissions criteria changed for incoming students? A: The University of California and California State University systems have relaxed some of their admissions criteria for incoming freshmen and transfer students. High school seniors can submit credit/no credit grades in place of traditional letter grades for A-G courses completed in winter, spring or summer 2020. A-G courses are the set of high school classes students must take to be eligible to attend one of the nine UC undergraduate campuses or one of the 23 CSU campuses. Community college students planning to transfer to a CSU or UC campus can also submit credit/no credit grades for prerequisite classes completed during the same time frame. Universities are also giving students flexibility for submitting their official transcripts, which are typically due in July. The UC and CSU systems are still requesting that final transcripts be submitted by their usual deadlines but say they won’t rescind admission offers for late transcripts. The UC system also is suspending the SAT and ACT requirement for current high school juniors for this upcoming year because of widespread testing cancellations. In May, the announced it would abandon the SAT and ACT exams as a freshman admission requirement and decided to develop its own substitute standardized test by 2025. And if that does not work out by 2025, UC will drop standardized tests altogether. In June, the College Board, which is the organization that administers the SAT, announced it would postpone plans to offer an online version of the SAT for high school students to take at home. Q: How will students be graded this semester? A: Many college and university students have said regular A-F grades should be replaced by a pass/fail evaluation system this spring. Some students want the option of choosing between the two types of grades until face-to-face teaching can resume. The California Community Colleges are waiving the deadline for students to select a pass/no pass grading option instead of a traditional letter grade. Students also will be allowed to retake any class attempted during the coronavirus crisis. If they do, grades from their first attempt will not count toward their grade point averages. Colleges across the state are responding in a variety of ways. UC Berkeley, for example, is switching to pass/no pass system this semester but will allow students to request a letter grade. Meanwhile, UCLA is keeping letter grades but allowing students to opt-in to pass/no pass grading for as many courses as they want, unlike the usual one per term allowed. Cal State campuses are studying how to expand the number of courses a student can take as credit or no credit and also how far to extend the deadlines for such choices. Source: EdSource Even with most classes being held online, some students will be able to return to on-campus housing. All but one of University of California’s nine campuses serving undergraduates have now formally announced plans to offer most classes online this fall, as the four-year university system moves forward amid the coronavirus pandemic.
This week, four UC campuses — Berkeley, Riverside, Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara — became the latest to disclose detailed plans for the fall, joining Davis, Irvine, Merced and Los Angeles. In general, the campuses will deliver the vast majority of classes virtually, except for classes such as science labs and small discussion seminars that are difficult to provide remotely. At the same, those eight universities have also said they will allow some students to return to campus this fall and stay in dorms, with variations from campus to campus in how they envision doing that. UC San Diego has yet to formally announce their plans for the fall, but Chancellor Pradeep Khosla wrote in an op-ed Wednesday in the San Diego Union-Tribune that the university will “offer a mix of remote and in-person instruction.” The announcements come as the coronavirus continues to spread across California and the United States. Hospitalizations are increasing in some parts of California, including in Orange and Ventura counties as well as in the San Joaquin Valley, according to the Los Angeles Times. California is also among nine states that on Tuesday registered either new single-day highs in cases of the virus or a record for seven-day new case averages, the Washington Post reported. Classes across the UC system first transitioned to being delivered virtually in March, as the coronavirus began to spread rapidly across the state. The plans being put forward by UC campuses for the fall are in line with the expectations set by system president Janet Napolitano, who said last month that “most of, if not all of, our campuses will operate in some kind of hybrid mode.” The state’s other four-year public university system, the 23-campus California State University, initially appeared to take a stricter approach than UC in limiting in-person classes for the fall. Tim White, that system’s chancellor, made national headlines last month when he said that most classes across the system will be offered online this fall, with limited exceptions for classes that can’t be delivered virtually. Napolitano did not take the same top-down approach, instead leaving decisions for the fall to each individual campus across the UC system. But as those campuses have released their plans, they appear to be fairly similar to what can be expected across the CSU system, with the majority of classes being taught remotely and a few courses being delivered face-to-face. Here is what is known about plans for eight of UC’s campuses: UC Berkeley In-person classes at Berkeley will be offered on a limited basis to students “who wish to come to campus,” the university said Wednesday. “Large courses” will be delivered remotely, the university said, but smaller discussion groups that are part of those classes may be available in person. The university is still in the process of determining specifically which classes will have in-person options for the fall and plans to make that information available by July. In any case, the university will not require any student to take in-person classes or be present on campus. Even courses that offer in-person instruction will also be available “via a remotely delivered method,” according to the university. A limited number of students will be able to stay in campus housing. Out of more than 30,000 undergraduate students, the university plans to house up to 6,500 students in residence halls. Those students will need to be tested for Covid-19, the disease the virus causes, before moving into their dorms and will be asked to isolate for between seven and 10 days after arriving. Students who will be given priority for staying in campus housing include low-income students, students who have already signed housing contracts, students with disabilities and athletes. UC Davis DAVID PHILLIPS / FLICKR UC Davis campus Most courses will be offered virtually at Davis this fall, but some will also be available in person “depending on health guidelines and instructor preference,” according to the university. The university plans to offer in-person instruction for the “small number of courses that cannot be delivered remotely,” including classes that emphasize hands-on learning. Classes that are offered in-person will be held in classrooms that are bigger than usual. If county and state health guidelines allow, the university will also allow students to return to campus housing this fall, but residence halls “will have reduced density,” the university said. UC Irvine Irvine was the first UC campus to disclose plans for the fall, announcing last week that almost all undergraduate classes would be delivered remotely, with exceptions made for labs, clinical courses and some engineering classes. However, the university does plan to allow students to return to campus. University officials wrote in a letter to students and their families that the university is “committed to providing as many students as possible with a meaningful campus residential experience” and would allow students to stay in dorms with single and double rooms. UCLA UCLA said this week that it expects between 15% and 20% of classes will be offered either in person or with a mix of in-person and virtual delivery. Those classes will include labs, clinical courses, some performing arts classes and other courses that can’t be delivered remotely. The rest of the university’s classes will be conducted online. The university said it will also offer on-campus housing but at a “lower population density” and will prioritize housing “based on a variety of factors,” including the financial needs of students and the distance between their primary residence and the campus. UC Merced Merced is aiming to offer between 20% and 30% of classes in person this fall as part of a blended approach of remote, in-person and hybrid course offerings, the university said last week. Priority for on-campus housing will go to incoming freshmen, foster and former foster students, students with disabilities and students who are homeless or otherwise housing insecure. Housing that is still available after those students have been accommodated will be offered to other students on a waiting list. UC Riverside All classes at UC Riverside will be available virtually during the fall quarter. Instructors who want to offer in-person classes can submit requests to do so, but any classes approved for in-person instruction will also need to accommodate students who can’t attend in person. The university said it expects that a “relatively small number of classes” will be approved for in-person instruction, and that it will prioritize graduate classes and undergraduate lab and studio courses. On-campus housing will be available to students, “but the density will be lower than normal and is still being determined,” according to the university. UC Santa Barbara Most classes will be offered remotely — and definitely all classes with enrollments of more than 50 students. At the same time the university says “we still plan to create a meaningful on-campus experience for as many students as we can, particularly those with special circumstances.” Campus residence halls will be open, but with no more than double occupancy per room. Before returning to campus, students will be required to show that they have tested negatively to the virus, and once there they will be asked to limit social interactions for the first two weeks, and then to stay on campus for the entire quarter which begins on October 1. Residence halls will impose a strict “no visitor” policy. The university says it will give special consideration in allocating housing “to students in their first year on campus and those with special circumstances. “The number of housing units for graduate students will not be affected. Students living off campus in Isla Vista are being encouraged to “will carefully explore all options, and be mindful about the importance of physical distancing and reduced density in living situations.” Even in off campus housing, students are advised not to more than two people per bedroom. UC San Diego In an op-ed in the San Diego Union-Tribune, UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep Khosla said the campus will offer a limited number of in-person classes, including “smaller seminar classes, studios and laboratories that require hands-on work.” The university is expected to announce more formal plans on Friday, according to the Los Angeles Times. UC Santa Cruz Most courses will be offered remotely this fall, UC Santa Cruz announced Wednesday, but in-person instruction will be provided for a “small number of classes that cannot be delivered remotely.” That includes some lab classes, studio courses and field study courses. The on-campus housing offered by the university will be significantly reduced, with priority given to “various continuing student populations and new transfer students, who may have a need to be physically present for courses or labs taught on campus,” the university said. July 1
Winter/spring 2021 application opens for Merced, Riverside and Santa Cruz August 1 Application opens for applicants for fall 2021 Sept. 1-30 Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) application for fall term October 1 Filing period for FAFSA and Cal Grant Verification Form opens for applicants to all terms (filing period open through March 2, 2021) November 1-30 Fall 2021 admission application filing period for all applicants January 8 Online application update opens for transfer applicants to report final fall grades and in-progress or planned coursework (priority deadline is January 31) March 1 Notification of fall 2021 admission decisions begins March 2 Deadline for applicants for all terms to submit FAFSA and Cal Grant GPA Verification Form May 1-31 Notification of fall 2021 admission decisions complete Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) application for winter/spring term June 1 Deadline for admitted transfer students to submit Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) July 1 For students admitted for fall 2021: Final, official transcripts must be sent to the campus admissions office. Transcripts must be postmarked or electronically submitted on or before July 1. July 15 Official AP, IB examination results must be sent to the campus admissions office. Test scores must be postmarked or electronically submitted on or before July 15. UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health is launching an initiative aimed at safely facilitating the reopening of campus in fall amid the COVID-19 pandemic, campus announced May 19.
A team led by Arthur Reingold, campus division head of epidemiology and biostatistics, and Maya Petersen, a campus associate professor of biostatistics and epidemiology, is set to collaborate on the Berkeley COVID-19 Safe Campus Initiative with University Health Services; the campus Division of Computing, Data Science and Society, or CDSS; the Innovative Genomics Institute; and local public health authorities to establish a system of measuring infection rates and developing mitigation strategies on campus. The initiative, which began development in March under the direction of UC Berkeley School of Public Health Dean Michael Lu, initially focused on resuming campus public health research operations but has since expanded to study others at risk of infection in the campus community, including clinic and janitorial staff, Reingold said. According to Reingold, the initiative will consist of linked studies focusing on three groups, including undergraduate students and staff, as well as another group consisting of faculty members, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and other researchers. Current plans project the enrollment of approximately 4,000 individuals in the studies, Reingold said. He added that the initiative found particular interest among studying undergraduate students, especially those living in Alameda and Contra Costa counties for summer 2020. Reingold said the initiative is awaiting approval from the UC Berkeley Committee for Protection of Human Subjects in order to begin the studies’ recruitment process. Approval and subsequent recruitment is expected to occur by the end of next week and will hinge on voluntary participation in the studies, according to Reingold. Once enrolled, participants will undergo regular medical monitoring, including a blood test for antibodies. “(Participants) would be additionally enrolled at University Health Service facilities, where we would take a swab to test for the coronavirus,” Reingold said. “The next few months, we would ask them to do things like take their temperatures each morning, report to us about symptoms, (and) we would gather information about some of their social interactions.” Reingold added that the initiative is centered on close collaboration among members of the campus community, including Vice Chancellor for Research Randy Katz and his office, Cal Athletics and campus programs working extensively with undergraduates and summer undergraduate housing. The initiative will also focus on a multidisciplinary approach, with communication and research being coordinated among various partners, including graduate students and staff. “We’re particularly proud of the fact that this is truly a multidisciplinary activity involving incredibly diverse parts of the campus,” Reingold said. CDSS is working to provide reliable data for the initiative and centering its efforts around connecting people across campus, according to CDSS Associate Dean for Research Kathy Yelick. Results of the initiative and the concurrent summer studies are expected to inform the outcome of fall semester, according to University Health Services Assistant Vice Chancellor Guy Nicolette. Nicolette added that the initiative’s COVID-19 testing and tracing plan is necessary in shaping campus operations, including whether in-person classroom instruction and residence hall living, as well as staff and faculty operations, can resume. “We are hopeful that the work being led by School of Public Health researchers will inform our recovery planning and ultimately underpin our successful return to campus,” Nicolette said in an email. Source: Hanna Lykke A student checks his cellphone at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus in this photo from February. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) The University of California Board of Regents’ unanimous vote last week to stop requiring admission seekers to take the SAT or ACT and seek to have UC come up with its own test by fall 2025 was a landmark moment. It’s the biggest triumph yet for those who argue these standardized tests are either biased against poor families who can’t afford test prep classes or racist or both.
The disadvantages that standardized tests create for minorities are a common theme of those in the progressive community who believe white privilege or the lack of it is a dominant factor in determining whether people lead successful lives. But while there are powerful reasons to believe that white privilege helps those who are borne into prosperous families that haven’t had to fight generations of structural racism, the enrollment numbers at UC’s 10 campuses don’t reflect this. This is why UC’s decision to break with historic norms is potentially a much bigger deal than it may now seem. The college admissions process is essentially a zero-sum game. If one group gets more admissions, it is at the cost of another group. And there is only one group that is far overrepresented in the UC system as a percentage of state population and K-12 enrollment, and it’s not whites. It’s Asian Americans, who have much better test scores and GPAs than any other race or ethnic group. And there is only one group that is far underrepresented: Hispanic Americans. According to a 2019 Census Bureau estimate and official state statistics from 2019, Asian Americans made up 15.3% of the state population and 9.3% of K-12 students but were 33.5% of UC’s total 226,125 undergraduate students. Hispanic Americans were 39.3% of the state population and 54.6% of K-12 students but made up 24.8% of UC undergrads. White Americans were 36.8% of the state population and 22.9% of K-12 students but made up 21.4% of UC undergrads. African Americans were 6.5% of the state population and 5.4% of K-12 students but made up 4.1% of UC undergrads. These numbers don’t include any of the 29,754 international undergrads, who were primarily Asian nationals. So when UC President Janet Napolitano, UC Board of Regents Chair John A. Pérez and campus officials bemoan the lack of diversity in their student bodies, most people translate that as too many whites and not enough Hispanics and African Americans. But what they are actually griping about is an admission process in which Asian American students — 1/11th of the K-12 cohort — get 1/3 of UC undergrad spots, and Hispanic students — more than half of K-12 enrollees — are 1/4 of UC undergrads. Given Proposition 209, the 1996 ballot measure that banned affirmative action in state agencies, the UC admissions issue couldn’t be more fraught. Yet it’s hardly a leap to wonder if UC will seek an admissions process like those seen at Harvard and other prestigious private colleges that effectively caps Asian American enrollment at about 20%. Last October, a federal judge ruled that Harvard’s policy was acceptable under the U.S. Constitution. If UC does something alone those lines while somehow skirting Proposition 209, the fallout could be broad. Would the perception that Hispanic students were getting in ahead of Asians with better high school records fracture the multicultural coalition that has been a dominant force in California and other blue states? In 2018, Vox writer Alvin Chang implored his fellow Asian Americans not to think this way because white conservatives with ugly motives — including the Trump administration’s Justice Department — were using this argument to try to dismantle affirmative action for historically disadvantaged groups. Don’t be “racial mascots,” Chang wrote But what happened in the California Legislature in 2014 suggests that many Asian Americans don’t see espousing concerns about bias in college admission as about helping white conservatives win their mean-spirited crusade. They see it as about protecting their kids. Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, proposed an amendment to the California Constitution that would have scrapped Proposition 209. The proposal died after state Sens. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, Carol Liu, D-La Cañada Flintridge, and Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, came out against it after being lobbied by Asian American groups who warned the amendment would hurt Asian students. If UC’s changes in admissions come to be seen as a subtle way to achieve Hernandez’s goal, these same groups will come out in force. And if you think tribalism in California couldn’t get any more acute than it already is, watch out. There could soon be a new front in the culture wars. Source: Chris Reed UC Personal Insight Questions Examples We are sure that you’ll get the best from UC personal statements samples. So, don’t hesitate to reading. Answering Questions for Your UC Personal StatementWhen applying to the Berkeley personal statement or UC, you’ll be asked to answer 4 personal insight questions. Below is the list of the questions you have to prepare :
For the third consecutive year UCLA has been selected as the No. 1 public institution in the nation in the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings.
In addition, of the more than 800 public and private institutions that were assessed, UCLA placed fifth among all public and private colleges in the area of environment, No. 11 overall in the engagement category, No. 16 in terms of outcomes, and No. 25 overall. The rankings focus on student success and learning in four key areas: student resources, student engagement, educational outcomes and learning environments. The results are based on data from the Times Higher Education U.S. Student Survey, which collected the opinions of more than 170,000 current university students, government data sources and findings from the Times Higher Education Academic Reputation Survey. Leading the overall list of colleges were Harvard (No. 1), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (No. 2) and Yale (No. 3). Among leading public universities, UCLA was followed by the University of Michigan, second (No. 27 overall), and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, third (No. 33). Other University of California campuses included in the Top 10 public universities were UC Berkeley, fourth (No. 34 overall), followed by UC Davis, fifth (No. 36), and UC San Diego, sixth (No. 37). UCLA consistently performs well in multiple rankings regardless of methodology or criteria. In 2018, UCLA was named the No. 1 U.S. public university in both the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges ranking and Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education survey. UCLA was also named the No. 2 U.S. public university (17 overall) by Times Higher Education in its 2019 World University Rankings and No. 2 (No. 9 overall) in its 2019 World Reputation Rankings. 6. COMMON MISTAKES IN ESSAY WRITING
Taking into account that you read this article, we have every right to suggest that your writing skills are far from ideal. Don’t worry: a lack of experience can be compensated with talent and efforts. Let’s look through the list of mistakes that you should avoid in your perfect essay. - Talking about nothing When you are not really interested in a topic and too lazy to provide profound research, you start making up stories, fabricate facts, and repeat your thesis statement, again and again, using different words. That’s not a good idea. Your teacher has read thousands of papers, and you can’t trick him or her with your eloquence. Pull yourself together, and you will pull through it! - Lack of concentration Focus on your question and don’t allow your thoughts to lose the right path. An essay is not a philosophical monologue that you can start with a poem and finish with a discourse about the origins of terrorism. Your writing has to be consistent and logical! - Including unsupported ideas Every statement in your writing requires one or two supporting details: facts, quotes, statistics, examples, etc. You will sound unreliable and thoughtless without these elements. - Lexical tautologies Come on, use a dictionary! Your vocabulary is not always enough, especially when the scientific terminology is required. Sometimes, it is better to consult the thesaurus in order to make your writing more complex and serious. - Ignore the task As said above, there are various types of essays. Every type has its own peculiarities, structure, and purpose. You shouldn’t mistake an argumentative essay for a persuasive or analytical essay. - New information in the conclusion A new idea in a concluding paragraph is a bad idea. The readers don’t want to be surprised by an unexpected detail. They are eager to see the logical finale of your reasoning. - Absence of the thesis statement Your thesis is the origin of the entire writing. That is why the foundation should be laid in the introductory paragraph. It establishes the structure, the logic, and the purpose of your narration. - Informal language Leave all words like “wanna” and “gotta” for your friends’ e-mails. An informal style is unacceptable for academic papers. Use high-level vocabulary and consult a dictionary if necessary. - Length of the sentences Balance is everything. You can’t develop an idea properly using four words. At the same time, lengthy constructions confuse your readers and hinder from following your reasoning. - Misuse of words Students frequently confuse words like “effect” and “affect,” “whose” and “those,” or “quit” and “quite.” Be attentive and proofread your paper two or three times. - Neglect references If you use a source, it is necessary to cite it properly. Plagiarism is a common problem of the modern educational system. The consequences of plagiarism can be very serious even if it seems to be accidental. - Punctuation mistakes Punctuation rules can be tangled and confusing. Anyway, you have to use proper punctuation in order to present your thoughts in a clear way and to make a good impression. Be especially careful with: - Comma splice: you should use a semicolon or add a conjunction between two independent clauses. - Missing comma before and, nor, but, or, yet, etc. - Missing subject or verb. - Unnecessary comma: you shouldn’t put commas between an independent clause and its dependent clause, verb and its direct object, or two elements with a conjunction between them. - Missing commas around interrupters: on the other hand, fortunately, in fact, etc. 7. CREDIBLE AND DUBIOUS SOURCES FOR YOUR ESSAY Every farmer knows that the harvest will be poor if you sow a field with meager soil. The same applies to the process of essay writing. If you use unreliable and untrusted sources, your work won’t be taken seriously. That is why the skills of searching trustworthy information are so important for every writer. Journalists have a rule that any fact should be confirmed with at least three sources. This law is also true for essays. Although it is nearly impossible to abide by this rule, the mentioned principle should be your orienting point. The internet is the greatest storage of data in our world, but the process of picking useful information often looks like digging through the trash. Below, we’ll give some directions so you won’t be totally lost in this chaos. First of all, you should figure out what domain names you can trust. A domain name is an indicator that shows a website belongs to a certain realm. We will discuss the prominent domains such as .edu, .org, .gov, and .com: .Edu This domain name points to different educational institutions. Usually, these websites are under control of educational specialists, so the published information is highly reliable. .Org The non-profit organizations have this domain name. The best thing about these sites is that they don’t try to sell you anything or to trick you in any possible way. In few words, they are worth your trust. .Gov This domain name is used by the governmental institutions. Here, the information is relatively reliable. However, some facts might be distorted and politicized, so you’d better be careful. .Com You should be very attentive while searching information on these websites. The commercial organizations are not always conscientious about provided data. Although some commercial sources are great, they may contain a lot of hidden or evident advertisements. Next warning: Stay away from the thousands of personal homepages and the millions of blogs. They are called PERSONAL for a reason. The bloggers offer their own point of view, and they are unlikely to be professionals. Of course, these kinds of sources might be helpful if you are looking for various opinions on your topic. However, you shouldn’t count on their credibility. What about printed sources? Let’s see how you can separate peer-reviewed and scientific journals from the plethora of magazines. - Scientific journals - Terminology, formal language - Absence of ads (usually) - Lack of colors - Published once in three months - Experienced and licensed authors - Other magazines - Informal language, simple vocabulary - Lots of ads - Glossy paper and bright printing - Published ALL THE TIME - Almost anybody We will clarify one more thing: fiction books are for leisure; non-fiction books are for research. Sure, you’ll have to use fiction as a source if you write a review of a book of fiction, but this fact is obvious. You can’t rely on any Wiki-site. The explanation is simple: anybody can edit these articles, and the censors are not always there to delete all of the nonsense. Although Wikipedia is far from ideal, you should check out other online encyclopedias: World Digital Library, Britannica, Scholarpedia, and others. Lots of library collections published online are a priceless source for your essay. You can also rely on information published online by well-known newspapers and news agencies: The New York Times, Daily News, The Washington Post, Reuters, Associated Press, etc. No doubt, you can provide your research in an old-fashioned way and visit the library on your own. Yes, they still exist. Remember that there is an exception to every rule. If you write an opinion paper, you may use any possible source in order to get acquainted with all existing points of view. ALWAYS take notes about your sources. This habit will keep you safe from plagiarism accusations. Use proper citations and give credit to your sources. Let’s summarize everything said above in this table. Good Sources - Websites that end with .edu, .org, and .gov - Well-known online newspapers and news agencies - Online encyclopedias - Scientific journals - Non-fiction books - Public, academic libraries Bad Sources - Most websites that end with .com - Personal homepages and blogs - Wikipedia - Glossy magazines - Fiction books - Word of mouth 8. COMMON ESSAY FORMATTING STYLES A formatting style is a particular approach to writing academic papers. As a rule, the formatting styles are standardized and accepted by the majority of educational and research institutions. Different disciplines require different approaches to citation and formatting, which is why there is no universal style. We will talk about three of the most widespread formats. MLA MLA (Modern Language Association) style is widely used for essays in humanities and liberal arts: literature, philosophy, music, etc. MLA style doesn’t require a title page. You type your name, your instructor’s name, the course, and the date in the upper left-hand corner on the first page of your paper. If emphasizing is necessary, you can use italics. A page where you mention all sources that you’ve used for your essay has the title “Works Cited.” We’ve mentioned the most significant peculiarities of MLA format. In order to get more detailed information, please, check out our presentation. APA This style was created by the American Psychological Association, so it is commonly used for the essays on social and behavioral disciplines: economics, history, psychology, management, etc. Unlike MLA style, APA format requires a title page. At the top, every page has a so-called “running head” – a short version of your work’s title (50 symbols maximum). The page with sources is called “References.” This information is enough to see the difference between APA and MLA formats. Before you start formatting your paper according to APA style, consult our presentation Chicago Format The title of this style comes from the Chicago Style Manual dedicated to American English punctuation, grammar, and style. It is widely used by students for formatting their papers on many disciplines. Chicago format allows writers to reference their sources with the help of footnotes and endnotes together with a bibliography page. That is the reason why this formatting style is preferable for the papers that focus on the source of origin. You’ll find more helpful information about Chicago format in our presentation. 9. GOOD TOPICS FOR VARIOUS TYPES OF ESSAYS Finally, we would like to offer you a list of 30 interesting topics that you may use for your papers. In brackets, we have included the most appropriate type of essay for every topic. COMPARE AND CONTRAST ESSAY: Civilization vs. Animal Instinct. Laptop vs. Desktop. ANALYTICAL ESSAY: Why are dreams important for our lives? Why can big indoor plants be dangerous? Change of Perception Based on Attractiveness ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY: Should photography exhibitions be censored? Should cloning extinct species be allowed? PERSUASIVE ESSAY: Are Beauty Contests a Good Thing For Young Girls? Management and leadership are not the same things. Animal experimentation has to be permitted. Does computer gaming addiction lead to more dangerous consequences among children or adults? CHOICE ESSAY: Tyranny or democracy? Explain your choice. 1980s or 2000s? Explain your choice. PROBLEM SOLUTION ESSAY: How to guarantee justice for all in the USA? How to impress colleagues at your new workplace? EXPOSITORY ESSAY: Explain how writers can influence readers. What symptoms does shopping addiction have? DEFINITION ESSAY: Define the term “crowdsourcing.” Define the term “Russian soul.” CAUSE AND EFFECT ESSAY: Did the Industrial Revolution Lead to a Sexual Revolution? How does paternalism affect a child’s worldview? What are the main causes of euphoria? COLLEGE ADMISSIONS ESSAY: Why is name of the university the perfect place to prepare you for your future career? How do I imagine Earth of the 22nd century? PROCESS ESSAY: How to live through a boring lecture? How to read a book in 15 minutes? DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY: My worst nightmare. My teenage diary. NARRATIVE ESSAY: Describe the time when you realized that Santa and unicorns don’t exist. Why have I decided to move out from my parents’ house? CRITICAL ESSAY: What role does religion play in the novel “The Kite Runner?” On the “Wonder Woman” movie and feminism. On “American History X” and propaganda of Neo-Nazism. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES ESSAY: The pros and cons of being an outcast teenager. Advantages and disadvantages of imaginative thinking. ———– Source: essayshark.com |