UC Irvine reinstates nearly 300 students whose admission was withdrawn

IRVINE, Calif. (KABC) -- Hundreds of students who were planning to head to University of California, Irvine in the fall but were told their acceptance had been rescinded received good news on Wednesday.

UCI officials announced that all students who received provisional acceptances to the school and met the academic requirements will be accepted. That includes 290 students who had their admission pulled.

"The students and their families have my personal, sincerest apology. We should not have treated you this way over a missed deadline," said Howard Gillman, the chancellor of the school, in a statement.

Nearly 500 students received the letters of bad news less than two months before the school year is set to begin.

The school said the letters were issued for several reasons, including poor grades for the students' final semester of their senior year, and not meeting the deadline to send their final transcripts to the school.

Many students said they had met the deadline, others appealed it was their high school that was responsible for sending them along. Whatever the reason, many were stuck without a school, and it was too late to try to attend somewhere else.

The statement added that the way the school handled the situation was unacceptable and is "rocking us to our core because it is fundamentally misaligned with our values."

Gillman said he intends to find out why the school chose to notify students in an "insensitive way" and has directed an auditor to review the admissions process for improvement.

As for students who did not meet the requirements, Gillman said the school will establish an expedited process to allow students to make the case for "extenuating circumstances."

"We will welcome all of our wonderful students who worked so hard to satisfy the requirements for UCI admission, and as we move forward we will do everything we can to earn the trust and loyalty of our community," the statement read.