A work in progress.
That’s how University System Chancellor Ham Shirvani describes the plan for admission standards for the state’s colleges and universities. Shirvani told an interim Legislative committee that the standards are based on a student’s ACT score, grade point average, whether a student is a state resident and whether the student has completed the core high school curriculum. Shirvani said the numbers aren’t yet finalized, but the plan is to have these in place by 2014.
"Once we put this model into application, we're talking about automatic admission," Shirvani told the interim Higher Education Committee. "We're not talking about the floor. We're not talking about the base. It sends a very clear signal to all the students in high school, that if you check in and do all these things, you will be automatically admitted."
Shrivani says it's an incentive for those students to work harder and do better. He says the four year colleges and research universities will have some admission flexibility. But he says students that don’t reach the thresholds could enroll in the community colleges – and when they’re ready could transfer to the other colleges.
Some committee members questioned what they saw as the complexity of the program. Rep. Kathy Hawken (R-Fargo) asked Shirvani why not just use the ACT score, GPA and residency.
"We are encouraging high school students to take more courses, to raise their level of knowledge, and prepare them," Shirvani replied. "Even if they're not good test-takers, if they have a good GPA and take a few more enriched courses, they can get in. So it's a more fair, more balanced model."
The system is three-tiered – with the toughest requirements at the research universities, a less-stringent requirement for the four year schools – and more open enrollment for community colleges.
