Governor signs law creating automatic admission process at UPR

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón (Facebook via Jenniffer González Colón)

By The Star Staff

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón has enacted Act 113-2025, which establishes a process for automatic admission to the University of Puerto Rico (UPR).

The legislation, known as the “Automatic Admission to the University of Puerto Rico Act,” ensures that all 11th-grade high school students who rank in the top 20% of their class will be automatically admitted to the UPR, along with other related provisions.

“This law reflects our commitment to the youth, as we have implemented numerous initiatives, including Executive Order 21, which strengthens the Luis A. Ferré Internship Program,” the governor said in a written statement. “This program aims to provide more university students with opportunities to enhance their professional development across various agencies. Additionally, with the signing of Administration Bill A-35, which creates the Youth Now Committee Act (Act 33-2025), we ensure that the voices of young people aged 13 to 29 are not only heard but also actively involved in decision-making processes and the formulation, evaluation, and implementation of public policies in Puerto Rico.”

Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, the author of the measure, said education “is the most powerful engine of social transformation.”

“With this law, we not only acknowledge the talent of our students but also proactively open the doors of the state university to them,” he said. “This legislation promotes academic justice. Not all young people have equal resources or support when applying to university. Through this model, the University takes the first step by saying to students: We are waiting for you, we believe in you, and we want you to be part of Puerto Rico’s development. The UPR will reach out to where the talent is, invite students in, and provide them with the opportunities they deserve.”

According to the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics, the UPR received 18,206 applications, granted 10,311 admissions, and enrolled 7,751 students in the first academic semester of the 2022-2023 academic year. That represented a 13.6% decrease in the number of admitted students enrolled in the UPR system from 2014 to 2022.

The measure’s preamble includes statistics on the decline in enrollment. Over the past 17 years, there has been a significant drop in enrollment at the UPR’s flagship Río Piedras Campus.