Participants in the SummerUp program at University of California, Merced were able to repeat Algebra II and earn enough transferrable credits to begin college-level math when they enter community college in the fall. (Photo: COURTESY UC MERCED, VIA INSTAGRAM)

Surprised by data showing that thousands of high school students are just one or two courses shy of meeting state university admissions requirements, the University of California has launched a summer program to help students make up the courses they’re missing and put them on a solid footing for college.

“It’s kind of frustrating they get so close,” said Dante Noto, the UC official who is overseeing the new program, called SummerUp. “I’ve talked to a lot of these kids (in SummerUp), and they’re thrilled to realize that UC and (California State University) are in their vision. They were not thinking they were necessarily going to get there.”

A university analysis shows just how close many students come. Researchers  reviewed the transcripts of 19,414 juniors at 40 high schools who were working to complete the course sequence – called A-G – required to be eligible for admission to California State University or University of California campuses.

The review showed that a quarter of students were missing two courses required to meet minimum requirements to be eligible for admission to California State University, while 16 percent were missing just one course. The CSU requirements closely mirror those required for UC.

Read the full text on EdSource California.