U of S announces new admissions policy for Alberta students

Final high-school marks used to apply to post-secondary institutions are calculated differently for students who follow the Alberta curriculum (including those living in Northwest Territories and Nunavut) compared to students in the rest of Canada.

For Alberta curriculum students, 50 per cent of their final marks consist of mandatory diploma exam test scores, while the final grades of students in other parts of the country are from marks accumulated over their entire senior year.

"Admitting some students based largely on one test score and others based on an entire year's worth of marks doesn't make sense to us," said Dan Seneker, manager of undergraduate recruitment at the U of S. "We believe the future of Alberta students should not rest on a single test result."

The U of S's new policy will admit Alberta curriculum students based on their in-class marks or their diploma marks, or a blend of the two—whichever mark is higher.

"To my knowledge, we are the first university in Canada to modify its admission policy to minimize the disadvantage faced by Alberta curriculum students," said Seneker. "So far the feedback from Alberta high school guidance counsellors, students and parents has been very positive."

The new admissions policy will not lower U of S admission quality—general policies and averages for admissions to university will remain the same. The modified admissions policy goes into effect in the fall of 2012. Students interested in attending the U of S next fall can apply in mid-October.

For more information on the new policy and to apply for admission, visit explore.usask.ca/alberta-bc at: http://explore.usask.ca/alberta-bc