What is “No Excuses University” at Magnolia? In an effort to promote college readiness and awareness at the elementary level, the staff at Magnolia has applied and been accepted to be a “No Excuses University.” In this spirit, we are in the process of implementing the “No Excuses University” philosophy at our school. We are taking steps to promote high levels of lifelong academic achievement for all. In our classrooms we are selecting a college to research, learning college terminology that relates to each grade level, talking about the importance of college for selecting a career and providing students a purpose for learning their grade level academic standards.