California’s university systems extend commitment deadlines

The University of California and California State University systems will both extend their deadlines for student commitments from May 1 to May 15, the latest—and largest—institutions to do so after FAFSA delays forced many universities to re-evaluate their admissions timelines. The decision applies to all 10 UC campuses and all 23 CSU campuses.

“By extending the decision window, we aim to ensure California students, particularly those from low-income and first-generation backgrounds, have the time and space to fully assess their options,” Han Mi Yoon-Wu, the UC system’s associate vice provost for undergraduate admissions, wrote in a statement announcing the extension.

The Education Department announced two weeks ago that colleges will not receive students’ federal aid information until mid-March at the earliest. In response, a coalition of higher ed advocacy organizations and professional associations called on colleges to push back their commitment deadlines to give students and families—and their own harried financial aid and admissions offices—the flexibility to adapt to the crunched timeline.

A small group of institutions, including Oregon State University and the University of Illinois Chicago, extended their deadlines last week, with most pushing them back to June 1. In an interview with Inside Higher Ed, Jon Boeckenstedt, Oregon State’s vice president of enrollment management, predicted that an extension from a big player like the UC system would prompt a string of other institutions to follow suit.