Admissions process adjusted to ensure diversity

COLUMBUS – Ohio State is well positioned to continue to attract a diverse student body in the wake of Supreme Court decisions earlier this summer indicating race still can be a factor in college admissions, university trustees were told Friday (10/3) in a presentation to the Academic Affairs Committee.

“The Michigan rulings showed that a student’s race can no longer be the decisive factor in college admissions, but it can continue to be one of the factors considered,” said Virginia M. Trethewey, Ohio State general counsel, in a briefing that included a discussion of the university’s modified admissions policies designed to create a diverse student body. “Our land-grant roots have always emphasized access, and diversity is one of the basic tenets of our Academic Plan,” she said.

Martha Garland, vice provost and dean of undergraduate studies, said some adjustments have been made in the admissions process to bring it into compliance with new rulings. “The courts made it very clear that large size was no excuse to depersonalize the process. But Ohio State still has every right to seek educational diversity, be it from ethnic or racial minorities, students from different geographic areas, first generation college students or any number of identifying factors,” she said.

The new undergraduate admissions application includes four short essay questions that will allow the students to convey their special attributes and experiences in an effort to individualize the process.

“These questions have been carefully devised to enable our admissions staff to identify potential students who can make contributions to the Ohio State,” said Martha Garland, vice provost and dean of undergraduate studies. “With the number of potential first-year students who apply to Ohio State, it’s not possible to give all of them personal interviews. The essays give the students a chance to shine,” Garland pointed out.
“We encourage students to write about anything that sets them apart or has affected their lives to this point as they apply to Ohio State.”

Stephanie Sanders, assistant director of undergraduate admissions and First-Year Experience, outlined to trustees the processes by which an incoming first-year class is formed.
The university expects about 20,000 applicants for the first-year class, she said. Of these, some 11,000 are “presumptive admits,” having the academic credentials and other qualities to succeed at Ohio State. At the other end of the spectrum are the 2,000 or so who lack the academic credentials to be admitted.
Decisions in these cases all receive an administrative review.

“That leaves some 7,000 applications that require further review. These are students who are not admitted immediately, but who have other contributing factors that can affect their admission. These students will receive a full review of their folder, still with an emphasis on academic qualifications, but factoring in such things as class standing, leadership roles, race, geography, community involvement or special circumstances,” Sanders said.

Additional reviewers will be hired on a part-time basis and will be trained to assist the regular admissions staff as the process continues from October through May. “We expect to admit 13, 000 to 14,000 students to arrive at an entering class of 5,800,” said Sanders.

Garland added that adjustments will continue to be made to Ohio State’s admissions and affirmative action programs to bring them into compliance with the law. “We are striving to make all our scholarships and student-support systems inclusive.

“We hope and believe that our subjective but highly organized admissions process will bring to Ohio State a diverse group of students who are prepared to stay, succeed and graduate,” she said.