(Photo courtesy of the UP OVVPA-MPRO)

MANILA, (PIA) -- For the second straight year, there will still be no University of the Philippines – College Admissions Test (UPCAT), UP said.

According to UP’s official website, the postponement of UPCAT for Academic Year (AY) 2022 – 2023 was based on Memorandum No. OVPAA 2021-158 released by the UP Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs on Nov. 18, 2021.

UP said that the memo stated that due to the “immense logistical challenge of administering UPCAT in the UP campuses and 95 testing centers throughout the archipelago while the trajectory of the pandemic remains uncertain,” the UP Office of Admissions made a motion to once again suspend the UPCAT for first-year student intake for the next academic year.

It mentioned that the University Councils across the UP System voted in favor of the motion. UPCAT has now been cancelled for the second straight time due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

For AY 2022-2023, UP said that the admissions model used by the UP Office of Admissions’ for the first-year student intake of AY 2021-2022 will be used. 

Last Oct. 25 UP opened applications for first-year students for the academic year (AY) 2022-2023. The admission test was supposed to be part of the main components in obtaining the UP admission grade (UPG) on top of an applicant’s high school grades.

“In the absence of a college admission test, a composite of the final grades in Grades 8, 9, 10, and 11 shall be the basis to determine the UPG,” UP said. (UP/PIA-NCR)