FOR THE second straight year, the University will not hold entrance tests because of the mobility restrictions designed to contain the pandemic.
The university has opened the admissions for incoming college and senior high school students for academic year (AY) 2022-2023 through the UST Admission Rating (USTAR), the Office for Admissions (OFAD) said.
“For the Academic Year 2022-2023, the University of Santo Tomas Entrance Test (USTET) will not be administered in consideration of the quarantine restrictions that are currently in effect in the country,” an announcement posted on the OFAD website last Wednesday read.
USTET was first suspended in 2020 and was replaced by USTAR because of the threats posed by COVID-19.
Under USTAR, applicants will be evaluated based on their past academic records and performance.
To be qualified, applicants have to meet the cut-off scores set by the academic units for their respective programs.
The OFAD said conducting USTET online would only pose challenges to the applicants and the University since it would take hours to administer and it may be difficult for many to secure a stable internet connection.
Ensuring the integrity of the test would also be difficult without proctors and using online proctoring software is impractical for those who cannot afford it, the OFAD added.
The Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB) currently has 749 enrolled freshmen.
The application, which is done online, started last Sept. 1 and will end on Dec. 15.
The USTAR results will be released in 2022. F – Karen Renee S. Nogoy
