Senate Passes Legislation to Improve Eligibility for Automatic College Admissions

Today, State Senator Ceci Maher (D-Wilton) voted to change the eligibility requirements for the Connecticut Automatic Admission Program (CAAP) to increase equity and access for students. The bill passed unanimously and now heads to the House.

“The college admissions process can be challenging for many students. Today, we took a step to simplify and ease it for Connecticut high schoolers and their families,” said Sen. Maher. “Now, students will be able to know exactly where they stand when they apply for college, and will have an easier time receiving an excellent education from schools across our state.”

CAAP allows graduating Connecticut high school seniors who meet identified thresholds to be notified of their eligibility for automatic admission to participating colleges and universities. SB 109, passed today, changes the requirement for admission from a minimum class rank percentile to a minimum, unweighted grade point average (GPA).

This legislation seeks to make the pre-qualification threshold more transparent for students by relying on a GPA as opposed to class rank, which is not readily available to students. By using an unweighted GPA, the legislation seeks to make the program more equitable by reducing the importance of heavily weighted Advanced Placement (AP) courses. This is important because lower resourced school districts often have less AP courses available.

According to Connecticut State Colleges & University (CSCU), this year, the total number of CAAP applicants has increased by 70%, and the total number of applicants to the CSCU schools going up by 400%, or 3,259 students.

A student who qualifies is required to complete a simplified, free application for the participating colleges and universities that they wish to attend. The student will automatically receive a letter of acceptance and details about financial aid awarded. Participating universities include:

• Central Connecticut State University
• Eastern Connecticut State University
• Southern Connecticut State University
• Western Connecticut State University
• Mitchell College
• University of Bridgeport
• University of New Haven
• University of Saint Joseph