As Sonoma States resumes Fall classes online, for the first time ever, SSU will allow the admittance of freshmen during the Spring semester. This means that first-time freshmen will be allowed to apply to Sonoma State in the Fall of 2020 and start in the Spring of 2021. 

According to an article from the New York Times, by Shawn Hubler, the California State University system was one of the first to announce that classes would remain online for the Fall of 2020. However, there’s been no mention of plans for Spring 2021. 

 According to the Cal State Apply website, the CSU campuses would be flexible through relaxed requirements due to COVID-19 and the impact it’s had on students’ plans for attending college. This comes after Cal State Apply made the decision to waive ACT and SAT scores in the admissions process until the Fall of 2021, as well as accepting a “Credit” or “Pass” for the A-G requirements, rather than a letter grade. 

However, the decision to change admissions deadlines would be up to each of the individual campuses. Not only is this the first time this is happening at Sonoma State, but SSU is also one of the first colleges to implement this decision. Humboldt State University, San Francisco State, and Chico State are also allowing freshmen to enroll in the Spring of 2021. On the other hand, Cal State Los Angeles, Cal State Maritime, Sacramento State University, and CSU San Bernardino are not allowing incoming students to enroll in the Spring and are maintaining that first-time freshmen should apply in the Fall of 2021 instead. 

The University of California system also waived ACT and SAT scores in order to “help mitigate some of the extraordinary challenges students and their families face in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.” However, they remained firm on admissions dates for first-time freshmen for Fall 2020 and are also upholding students applying for Fall 2021. As stated by the COVID-19 UC response page, “The deadline to accept an offer of admission, known as the Statement of Intent to Register, remains May 1 for freshman and June 1 for transfers.” 

Dean of Extended Education, as well as the Interim Public Information Officer on campus, Robert Eyler, stated that the decision to admit first-time freshmen came at the end of last Spring when Sonoma State University realized how high-school students’ plans to enroll as first-time freshmen were derailed by the pandemic. “Spring admissions–this year for sure–allows a chance to start in the Spring and hopefully a better student outcome long-term.” He says that the Spring start date allows freshmen to “use the Fall of 2020 to plan and stabilize [their] life, if COVID-19 has unfortunately affected the student or the student’s family.”

 However, first-time freshmen admission during the Spring semester was a change that was going to be made eventually. According to Eyler, as higher education moves towards a student-centered admission process, Sonoma State University and the Cal State University system was heading in the direction of Spring admissions for first-time freshmen, despite the pandemic.