Updated Guidance on Suspending Admissions to a Graduate Program

As graduate programs respond to changes in acceptance and enrollment rates as an impact of Covid-19, the Graduate School would like to remind you of our guidelines regarding suspension of admissions. 

For programs considering this step, we want to highlight the following key considerations in addition to our more specific information and guidance about suspending admissions.

• Programs suspending admissions should proceed on a timeline that allows for approval and implementation before admission opens for the proposed quarter/year of suspension.*
• Programs must adhere to programmatic commitments made to students.
• Any suspension of admission requires a vote of the unit’s graduate faculty, endorsement by the unit’s chair and dean, and approval by the Graduate School.
• Implementation includes, but is not limited to, shutting down the admissions portal and other administrative processes, clearly stating on the program’s website that admissions is closed for a certain period of time, and clearly stating on the program’s website if the first year experience will be significantly different than previously promised (smaller cohort, different classes), etc.
•  Significant changes to programs after offers are made, or late suspension of admissions breaks promises to prospective students and creates legal risk to the University. 

If you have additional questions about suspending admissions, or if you anticipate your program will consider this step for the next admission cycle, please contact the Graduate School’s Office of Academic Affairs & Planning at progprop@uw.edu.  

* The Graduate Application for Admission is open for two years (i.e., summer 2021 and summer 2022).