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New Admissions Criteria for Some Programs

Humboldt State University anticipates the need to implement more selective admissions requirements for freshmen and transfer students applying to certain academic programs, beginning with those planning to enroll in Fall 2014. In some cases, this proposal includes the creation of a pre-major, with freshmen-level students required to complete certain requirements before enrolling in the major.

This proposed change is a result of increased demand by prospective students in recent years. The programs that would have the new requirements are among those that have seen high growth in applications.

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

HSU will hold a series of three public hearings on the plan to implement these new requirements, known formally as "impaction." At these hearings, participants will be able to hear directly from HSU admissions staff, ask questions and share feedback. All comments will be considered as HSU decides how to best serve students from the local area, throughout California and beyond.

Comments may be submitted at any of the three hearings, or by using the online form. Comments are due no later than March 15, 2013. They will be posted for public review on this website, along with the full name, title and organization of the commenter. Contact information will not be posted.

Public Hearing Schedule

February 25, 2013
12:30 p.m. – 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 7, 2013
3 p.m. – 4 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.

Each of the affected academic programs has established strong reputations and has seen strong interest among prospective students. For example, the engineering program is one of the oldest and largest with a focus on environmental resources. The Botany program is now the largest undergraduate program of its kind in the nation, and the Wildlife program is considered by many to be among the best in the world.

The programs have all experienced a large increase in applications in recent years, and are all expected to be at or slightly above capacity in Fall 2013. At the same time, they are expensive programs with intense requirements for lab space. State funding covers just a portion of the cost of educating each student.