Minnesota State University Moorhead has now adopted a “test-optional” admission policy.
That means ACT or SAT scores are no longer a requirement for admission.
MSUM director of undergraduate admissions Tom Reburn said studies have shown the ACT and SAT tests often do not reflect what a student may actually achieve in college.
"When we look at our own data, and understood the students that came to MSU-Moorhead, and found success, we saw a much stronger indication of success actually came from he high school GPA (grade point average)," Reburn said.
Reburn said MSUM has been talking it over for about 18 months. Then came COVID-19.
"With that, national ACT tests were canceled," Reburn said. "A lot of students who were getting ready to make that final choice, and had not yet taken the ACT, did not have that opportunity."
Reburn says because of that, MSUM has implemented an alternative admission process, to look at a student’s GPA.
"If at the end of a student's junior year the student has a 3.5 GPA, that meets our automatic admission," Reburn said. "If a student has had a 3.0 GPA for their high school career, the student will also receive automatic admission to MSUM."
Reburn said if a student doesn’t meet the automatic criteria, that student can appeal, and MSUM will consider other factors.
"Any time we can find an opportunity for more students to find success, and ultimately reach educational goals, that's what we want to do," Reburn said.
