IRVINE

Computer Link to Aid College Applicants

The 1,200 students at Irvine Valley and Saddleback community colleges who apply to UC Irvine each year will soon be able to send their transcripts by the Internet.

Project Pathways, developed by the University of California and IBM, is designed to create an information link between UC schools and applicants.

“This will allow our students to go through the application procedure electronically from our site to UCI,” said Terry Burgess, vice president of instruction for Irvine Valley College. “This is a pilot. The presumption is that this will eventually spread throughout the community college system.”

Saddleback Community College district trustees recently voted to take part in the project, which is to be operating by fall. Students from the district’s community college campuses in Irvine and Mission Viejo will be able to transfer all academic records, including application essays, to UC Irvine through the Internet.

The University of California plans to expand the project to allow elementary school students to communicate with each UC campus by computer to help them plan academic careers.

The Saddleback district will spend $25,000 to participate in the project, which district officials say should speed up transfer applications. The University of California has pledged the loan of computer hardware and software in addition to technical staff.

Saddleback officials predict that students eventually will be able to begin compiling a computer-based record of academic and extracurricular activities as early as the eighth grade in preparation for college admission.