By Following the announcement that the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement Placement Exam (GPE) would be discontinued, English literature major Brandi Modica called for a refund of the test she took in 2023 when transferring to Long Beach State.
“I was redirected about five times and had a very unprofessional exchange with someone from the GWAR team over email. It was a lot of ‘we don’t know’ and ‘speak to so and so,’” Modica said.
In order to be awarded a CSULB degree, all students must take the GPE. Then, based on their score, they will need to take a writing intensive courses and receive a C or higher to fulfill the Graduation Writing Assessment, according to the university’s GWAR overview.
Undergraduate Studies Associate Vice President, Kerry L. Johnson, emailed the Current and said Academic Affairs cannot refund students who took the GPE while it was required.
Students who registered for the May GPE are eligible for a refund of the $25 fee.
In a CSULB student-wide email, Johnson noted the following information:
- Students who have already taken a Writing Intensive course don’t have to worry about the discontinuation of the exam.
- Students currently enrolled in a GWAR portfolio course or ENGL 301A should complete their course and earn a grade.
- Students who have already taken the GPE and were placed in a GWAR Portfolio course or ENGL 301A for Summer 2025 no longer need to take those courses. Instead, students are now able to register for a Writing Intensive course.
In her email exchange, Modica asked the GWAR program how to contact the Office of Undergraduate Studies. The person behind the GWAR program email replied, “You can look it up on the website. Best of luck.”
Modica is currently waiting to hear back from Undergraduate Studies.
The end of an email exchange between a student and the GWAR team. The student asked for information on contacting the Office of Undergraduate Studies. Photo courtesy of Brandi Modica
“When the GPE was taken, even a few weeks ago, it was a valid and necessary requirement for GWAR placement,” Pei-Fang Hung, CSULB interim vice provost of academic programs, said via email. “The GPE exam fee covered the cost of administering and scoring the test, and those services were fully delivered under the policies in place at the time.”
The discontinuation of the GPE is said not to have a significant negative impact on students.
Hung said the GPE served primarily as a placement tool rather than a standalone requirement for fulfilling the GWAR. The exam’s absence will mainly shift how students are directed into appropriate coursework.
Shakthi Sivasankar, a first-year computer engineering major, said she didn’t mind the test because her writing is strong. However, she disagrees with the refund policy.
“Not [giving] a refund is crazy, ‘cause they won’t even use it,” Sivasankar said.
Roxanna Roque, a second-year aerospace engineering major, said she was relieved to take the exam off her to-do list.
“The [results] of the review worry me, cause I’ll have to end up doing the exam if it gets reinstated. But I guess it’ll be fair for those who paid for it,” Roque said.
In an email, Johnson said Academic Affairs aims to complete policy revisions as soon as possible, but Academic Senate review and approval will take time.
However, according to Johnson, the existing draft policy on the Academic Senate floor does not include the exam.
A few other California State Universities have stopped requiring their versions of the GWAR and have allowed students to fulfill the requirement by taking the necessary courses.
“Some campuses used an exam as a high-stakes [way] to directly satisfy the GWAR requirement,” Johnson said. “So, rather than serving as a standalone requirement, the GPE helped guide students into the necessary coursework based on their writing proficiency. This distinction is why CSULB continued using the exam.”
CSULB alum Antonio Rodriguez graduated in 2016 and remembers thinking the exam set a low bar at the university, but added that since the university is so international, it was reasonable.
“I think ending the GWAR is a bad idea and sets a bad precedent. We should be striving to set high, and higher standards because the demands of the future will be ever higher and higher,” Rodriguez said.
“We are starting to see how the iPad generation is struggling with reading comprehension, actual computer skills and critical thinking,” he said.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 3:20 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22 to add a clarifying paragraph regarding the difference between the GPE and GWAR.
