Henry, M., Perret, C., & Roy, L. (2024). Characterizing University Prerequisites from the Analysis of Parcoursup. Éducation et socialisation. Les Cahiers du CERFEE, (73). Retrieved from https://journals.openedition.org/edso/28611
This article examines the prerequisites for entering French universities, which were first made visible for undergraduate programs with the implementation of Parcoursup in 2018. When candidates express their preferences for specific programs, academic teams use data such as academic results, feedback from previous institutions, and motivation letters to classify applications. The study focuses on the prerequisites defined by teaching teams for Bachelor’s programs, based on data from a French university in 2020. The analysis of prerequisites is conducted in three stages: the first step involves using the public report from Parcoursup, the second step examines the settings made by each program in the decision support tool used to classify candidates, and the third step compares both sources of information on the prerequisites of teaching teams for Bachelor’s programs. While grades play a significant role, the study finds that the criteria considered are varied, ranging from academic competencies to extracurricular activities, interests, and even civic engagement. Depending on the program, the criteria can range from strict prerequisites to more flexible ones.