The following statement is from the California State University Office of the Chancellor, dated March 31, 2020.

The California State University (CSU) system is taking all necessary steps to mitigate the disruptions caused by COVID-19 while ensuring the health and safety for our students, faculty, staff and communities. With the COVID-19 pandemic it has become necessary to adjust some CSU admission requirements and prior guidance to incoming students for fall 2020 and beyond.  

The CSU system and CSU campuses are prepared to exercise flexibility and accommodation when working with our educational partners and fall 2020 applicants in meeting admission requirements and the subsequent steps toward enrollment. Although there has been disruption as campuses transition to some or all staff working remotely, processing of admission applications and communications is continuing. 

The following information is provided for school districts, schools, community colleges, colleges, educators, prospective students and applicants regarding CSU admission and provides a high-level overview of the guidance.  Guidance to CSU campuses regarding technical implementation will be provided in a separate document.

High School Guidance – First-Time First-Year Students

Fall 2020 First-Time First-Year Students

1. The CSU will accept grades of “Credit” or “Pass” to satisfy “a-g” requirements completed during winter, spring or summer 2020 terms. All prior coursework must be graded and a grade of C- or better must be earned for the course to satisfy “a-g” requirements. Grades of credit/pass or no credit/non-passing will not be included in the calculation of high school GPA.
2. CSU campuses will assess and initially place students in first-year English/Math based on multiple measures: high school and college courses completed, GPAs and test scores (SBAC, ACT, SAT) that students have submitted thus far.
3. The CSU will not facilitate a systemwide Early Start Program in summer 2020; individual CSU campuses may offer summer transitional programs (e.g. Summer Bridge) in virtual formats.
4. The CSU requests that high schools that can provide transcripts by July 15, 2020, do so; however, campuses will continue to accept transcripts through the fall 2020 term. CSU campuses will not rescind conditional offers of admission based on the non-receipt of transcripts. If a student is not able to provide an official transcript, due to extended school closure, CSU campuses may use unofficial or self-reported data for senior year grades and graduation status.
5. New first-year students will remain in a conditionally admitted status until the CSU campus receives a final transcript document and review of the transcript for a-g requirements is completed.*
6. If a student has not met all “a-g” requirements after review of their final transcript document, at that time, CSU campuses may use admission exceptions on a case-by-case basis if students are no longer CSU-eligible, based on the inability to complete all “a-g” courses in which they were enrolled in spring 2020.** Consideration can include how well the student is doing academically in fall 2020. Students should in no way assume that enrollment in fall 2020 CSU courses means that an exception will be automatically granted.
7. The College Board has announced changes to the AP exam content and format for spring 2020. The CSU will honor all existing transferable credit articulation for spring 2020 AP exams on which scores of 3, 4, or 5 are earned.
8. CSU campuses are individually considering their extension of intent to enroll and/or housing deposit deadlines. Intent to enroll deadlines will consider the campus’s capacity to provide timely information regarding financial aid awards to students and families. More information will be forthcoming.

Fall 2021 Prospective First-Time First-Year Students (Current High School Juniors)

1. The CSU will consider course grades of “credit” or “pass” as fulfilling “a-g” requirements for those courses completed during winter, spring or summer 2020 terms. All other coursework must be graded and a grade of C- or better must be earned for the course to satisfy “a-g” requirements. Grades of credit/pass or no credit/no pass will not be included in the calculation of high school GPA.
2. The CSU strongly recommends that ALL students enroll in a yearlong senior-year English course and a mathematics/quantitative reasoning course as student-specific Early Assessment Program (EAP) guidance will largely not be available at the time of senior year course registration. These courses could include Expository Reading and Writing (ERWC), Math Reasoning with Connections (MRWC), weighted honors, International Baccalaureate (IB), and Advanced Placement (AP) and other advanced courses.
3. Given the indefinite suspension of ACT/SAT examinations and the fact the state’s Smarter Balanced test will not be administered this year to current high school juniors, the CSU is evaluating its admission process for entering first year students in 2021. The CSU is in consultation with its internal constituents, including its statewide academic senate and governing board, to determine the appropriate path forward for eligibility criteria for fall 2021 applicants. A final decision on how CSU will adapt its admissions process for the fall 2021 term will be made soon. At that time, the CSU will immediately communicate its decision publicly.
4. The College Board recently has announced changes to the AP exam content and format for spring 2020. The CSU will honor all existing transferable credit articulation for spring 2020 AP exams on which scores of 3, 4, 5 are earned.

For Grades 8, 9 and 10

1. CSU will consider course grades of “credit” or “pass” as fulfilling “a-g” requirements for those courses completed during winter, spring, or summer 2020 terms. All other coursework must be graded and a grade of C- or better must be earned for the course to satisfy “a-g” requirements. Grades of credit/pass or no credit/no pass will not be included in the calculation of high school GPA.

Community College Guidance – Incoming Transfers

Fall 2020 Transfers

1. The CSU campuses will accept “Credit” or “Pass” for transferable college courses completed in winter, spring or summer 2020 taken to satisfy:
   • A. The Golden Four (English language [A2], oral communication [A1], critical thinking [A3], and mathematics/quantitative reasoning [B4]);
   • B. All other General Education courses; and 
   • C. Major prerequisite courses.
2. CSU campuses will clear admission for upper-division transfer applicants with 48 semester or 72 quarter transferable units who have completed English Language (A2) and mathematics/quantitative reasoning (B4) by the start of fall 2020 (including courses taken in summer 2020).
   • A. CSU campuses will work with students to enroll in the appropriate general education and major preparation courses to fulfill lower division requirements prior to enrolling in major coursework.
   • B. Students will still need to fulfill all major requirements to receive their degree.
3. If a CSU campus conditionally admitted a student as a lower-division transfer, the student will need to meet eligibility and have completed English Language (A2) and mathematics/quantitative reasoning (B4) by the start of fall 2020 (including courses taken in summer 2020).
4. The CSU requests that community colleges that can provide transcripts by July 15, 2020, do so; however, CSU campuses will continue to accept transcripts through the fall 2020 term. CSU campuses will not rescind conditional offers of admission based on the non-receipt of transcripts. If a student is not able to provide an official transcript, due to extended school closure, CSU campuses may use unofficial or self-reported data for spring or summer grades and graduation status.
5. New transfer students will remain in a conditionally admitted status until the CSU campus receives a final transcript document and review of the transcript for admission requirements is completed
6. If a student has not completed at least 48 transferable units and fulfilled A2 and B4 requirements after review of their final transcript document, at that time, campuses may use admission exceptions on a case-by-case basis if students do not meet the criteria in item number 2 above. Students should in no way assume that enrollment in Fall 2020 CSU courses means that an exception will be automatically granted.
7. If a student that was conditionally accepted for fall 2020 chooses to remain at their community college to finish their transfer requirements or ADT degree, the CSU campus may defer their admission to winter/spring 2021 terms.  This action will be at the discretion of the individual CSU campus.
8. A transfer student who anticipated completing an Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) that enrolls for fall 2020 without completing the ADT and has matriculated with less than 60 units completed would need to obtain a special advising agreement at the CSU campus of enrollment.  
9. The College Board recently has announced changes to the AP exam content and format for spring 2020. The CSU will honor all existing transferable credit articulation for spring 2020 AP exams on which scores of 3, 4, 5 are earned.
10. CSU campuses are individually considering their extension of intent to enroll and/or housing deposit deadlines. Intent to enroll deadlines will consider the campus’ capacity to provide timely information regarding financial aid awards to students and families. More information will be forthcoming.

Spring 2021 Transfers and Beyond

1. CSU campuses will accept “Credit” or “Pass” for courses completed in winter, spring or summer 2020 taken to satisfy:
   • A. Golden Four (English language [A2], oral communication [A1], critical thinking [A3], and mathematics/quantitative reasoning [B4]);
   • B. All other General Education courses; and 
   • C. Major prerequisite courses.
2. The College Board recently has announced changes to the AP exam content and format for spring 2020. The CSU will honor all existing transferable credit articulation for spring 2020 AP exams on which scores of 3, 4, 5 are earned.

Footnotes

*This should not preclude campuses from being able to award federal financial aid to students for Fall 2020.  This applies to both first-time first-year students and transfer students. Federal financial aid eligibility thereafter will be subject to federal regulations and CSU policies.

**The CSU Chancellor’s Office will ensure that either campus allocations for admissions exceptions are increased or a special code will be used for these exceptions and they will be excluded from the total count.  This applies to both first-time first-year students and transfer students.

 Note: The guidance in this document may be updated in response to the changing context associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. March 31, 2020.