HSU Seeks Feedback on New Admissions Criteria

Humboldt State University is seeking public comment on its plan to implement more selective admissions requirements in some high-demand programs. Also being considered are new pre-majors for some programs.

The new requirements would be for applicants planning to enroll in Fall 2014 or after.

The changes would affect freshmen and transfer applicants in Biology, Botany, Wildlife and Zoology; and transfer applicants in Environmental Resource Engineering.

These are all programs that have established strong reputations and have seen increasing interest among prospective students. Each of the programs expects to be at or above capacity in Fall 2013. At the same time, they are also expensive and have intense requirements for lab space—and state funding covers just a portion of the cost of educating each student.

”I encourage people with an interest in this to attend the hearings and tell us what you think, or to submit comments on the website,” says Peg Blake, HSU’s Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs. “We want to continue to be responsive to the educational needs and aspirations of the people in Northern California.”

At the public hearings, participants will be able to hear directly from HSU admissions staff, ask questions and share feedback. Comments may be submitted at any of the three hearings, or by using the online form at humboldt.edu/impaction. Comments are due no later than March 15, 2013.

Public Hearing Schedule

February 25, 2013
12:30 – 2 p.m.
Mendocino College, Main campus, Ukiah
Career and Transfer Center

March 7, 2013
11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
College of the Redwoods, Del Norte campus, Crescent City
Main Building (DM) 29

March 15, 2013
11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
College of the Redwoods, Main campus, Eureka
Student Services Building (SS) 109

Proposed Guidelines

Humboldt State University will be impacted for freshmen applicants for the major in Wildlife. The University will also be impacted for upper division applicants for the majors in Biology, Botany, Zoology, Environmental Resources Engineering, and Wildlife.

  • First-time Freshmen who wish to major in Wildlife will be admitted on the basis of their high school grade point average, which will be evaluated after the closing of the application filing period.
  • First-time Freshmen who wish to major in Biology, Botany, or Zoology will be admitted into the Pre-major. Pre-major students must complete Chemistry 109, Biology 105, Botany 105, Zoology 110, and Statistics 109 before they can enroll in the major. All courses must be passed with individual grades of C- or better and with an overall grade point average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale.
  • Upper Division Transfer applicants who plan to major in Biology, Botany, or Zoology must have completed the equivalents of one year of Introductory Biology courses with laboratories, and one semester of General Chemistry with laboratory, and a course in Pre-Calculus, Calculus, or Statistics. All courses must be passed with individual grades of C- or better and with an overall grade point average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale.
  • Upper Division Transfer applicants in Environmental Engineering must have completed the equivalent of one semester of Introductory Calculus with a grade of C- or better.
  • Upper Division Transfer applicants in Wildlife must have completed the equivalent of at least one of the following courses: Pre-calculus, Introductory Chemistry with laboratory, Introductory Biology with laboratory, Introductory Botany with laboratory, or Introductory Zoology with laboratory. All courses must be passed with individual grades of C- or better and with an overall grade point average of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale.

More information and a form for submitting comments are at humboldt.edu/impaction.