Why UPCA 2023?

With the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, conducting this year’s nationwide face-to-face UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) 2023 may jeopardize the health and safety of more than 100,000 applicants and at least 1,600 test personnel.

The risks are just far too high. UP is not willing to take that chance, yet. But it has been preparing for UPCAT 2024 to be administered in 2023.

The University Councils of the UP System’s eight constituent universities – composed of thousands of assistant, associate and full professors – have decided there will be no UPCAT for the freshmen intake of Academic Year 2023-2024. For now, the UP College Admissions (UPCA) – using the admissions score model developed by the University’s data scientists, vetted by experts and overwhelmingly approved by faculty members across the UP System – will still be employed.

It must be clarified and emphasized that prior to COVID-19, getting into UP was never based on UPCAT scores alone. The test was only one in the multitude of weights and measures to qualify for admission. The UPCA is likewise guided by the University’s Excellence-Equity Admission System, to compute the applicant’s UP predicted grade (UPG) or the applicant’s projected performance as a UP student.

Careful diligence in assessing the feasibility of administering the test led to the decision. The public health situation continued to be monitored. There is also the emergence of monkeypox. While it is a disease with limited transmissibility, its occurrence has some sectors concerned. Logistical considerations like desk work and budget planning for the 2023 intake started in December 2021. Sensing surveys for test centers and regional test personnel were done. Inspections of testing halls in UP Diliman and regional test centers, some through digital means, were conducted as well.

The possibility of changing alert levels and local conditions across regions – leading up to and during test administration – pose risks to test security. Health standards that ensure the welfare of all involved have impacts on UPCAT scheduling, test personnel deployment and test room capacity. Health protocol clearance must be obtained for more than 95 test centers throughout the Philippines. Compliance with these requirements remains paramount, but this is clearly challenged by the uncertainty and volatility of the public health situation.

UP stands by the strength and effectiveness of UPCA. Excellence and equity in UPCA are based on factors such as the applicant’s marks from Grades 8 to 11, which are subjected to transmutation and standardization to address the wide variation of grading systems across schools; economic background and geographic location. The University’s goal has always been the development of a student body that truly reflects an inclusive and diverse mix of intellectual capability across pockets of abilities, regional variation and high school type – with or without the UPCAT.

The algorithm for the UPCA model is iteratively improved based on lessons and experiences in the recent past. This means that UPCA 2023 was refined based on data from UPCA 2022, where academic units, with concurrence from the University Councils, also made assessment revisions based on UPCA 2021 intake experience.

UP remains confident in the empirical evidence showing strong correlation of the UPCA model-based UPG with first year performance in UP, similar to the admissions system with UPCAT. UPCA is not inferior to the previous system with the test. Data show that UPCA qualifiers are as intellectually competent as UPCAT takers. While the University is aware that some schools’ dominance in the qualifier list became permeable when the model was adopted, data actually demonstrate that qualified applicants are among the best in their respective milieus.

The innovation introduced in UPCA 2022 will continue for UPCA 2023. This is the iterative appeals system in the Degree Program with Available Slot or DPWAS, Waitlist and Appeals (DIWA) online portal. This resulted from the recognition that qualification heavily hinged on the applicant’s choice of degree program and campus. Those who did not make the cut in the regular release of results are given opportunities to find a degree program subject to eligibility requirements and available slots.

Why UPCA? This innovative model embodies UP’s commitment to excellence, equitability and inclusivity. It is a fitting model that enabled UP to remain true to its mandate as the national university amid enormous adversities in this time of COVID-19.

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Prof. Francisco N. de los Reyes is an Associate Professor of Statistics and the Director of the UP Office of Admissions.