Laboratory Science Requirement For Freshman Admission

AS-2769-06/AA/TEKR - September 14-15, 2006

RESOLVED: That the Academic Senate of the California State University (CSU) recommend that the CSU version of the high school course preparation pattern (a-g) be revised to align the two unit (years) of laboratory science requirements of the CSU and the University of California (UC); and be it further

RESOLVED: That, for the CSU requirement, both courses must be chosen from category "D" on the University of California (UC) list of approved college preparatory courses.

RATIONALE: The specific requests within this resolution support the recommendation of the Admissions Advisory Council of the CSU. The resolution itself advocates changing the CSU high school course preparation pattern to bring it into closer alignment with the UC pattern.

Current CSU policy requires one unit of laboratory science be from among the life sciences and one from the physical sciences. Current CSU Policy permits one of the required sciences to be chosen from the elective category ("G").

It is believed that this difference between UC and CSU admission patterns are confusing to students and schools, and can result in students to be regularly admissible to the UC, but not to CSU campuses (e.g., by completing AP Chemistry and Physics without also completing a life science course with a laboratory component).