Competitive admissions standards now year-round

COLUMBUS - The Ohio State University Board of Trustees voted today to apply competitive admission standards year-round beginning autumn 2003 to improve the university’s academic profile and retention and graduation rates, all central themes of the Academic Plan. The plan is part of the university’s strategy to make Ohio State one of the nation’s top universities.

Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies Martha Garland said the university’s primary interest is student success. “We’re now pairing our mandate to provide Ohio citizens with broad access to advanced study with one of equal – and urgent – importance: Student success. Applying competitive admissions standards year-round allows us to admit the students who are the most qualified and have the highest potential to earn their degree.”

Garland said there is a growing divide between the well-prepared students who enter in autumn quarter and those admitted at other times in the academic year. The latest statistics indicate that 31 percent of freshmen who enter in winter quarter and only 18 percent of those entering in spring graduate within six years, compared to 56 percent of those admitted in autumn. “Data like these prove that admitting students who are not likely to succeed helps neither the university, nor the students. Many will leave school both disillusioned with their experience at OSU and burdened with substantial debt,” she said.

Before receiving board approval, university officials consulted with a variety of constituencies who were concerned about access and its effect on the university’s diversity, Garland said. Those requesting clarification were reassured that as the university has become more competitive, diversity has actually increased. In fact, this fall’s entering class is the most diverse ever, with an estimated 18 percent of students being African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic or Native Indian.

“Strategic recruiting and an improving environment on campus for minority students have contributed significantly to our diversity,” she said. Another factor contributing to the diversity of the undergraduate population is that 13 percent of the 3,000 transfer students entering annually are members of minority groups.

To minimize further concerns about access, the university also plans to add 130 freshmen slots in autumn quarter to accommodate some students who might have sought entry in winter or spring. That way, Garland said, the students can benefit from the additional resources first-quarter freshmen receive, as well as being away from their studies only for three to four months, versus six to nine months if they entered in winter or spring quarters.

Statistics show that better-prepared students are more likely to achieve their educational goals, Garland said. While the university began strengthening admissions standards in the late 1980s, retention has increased steadily since 1995, when it was 79 percent. The most recent data show 86 percent of freshmen entering in fall 2000 returned for their sophomore year in 2001, up from 84 percent in 2000 and 82.8 percent in 1999.

Garland said that the university’s movement toward more of a “system” approach, as outlined in the report from the Presidential Commission on Regional Campuses, should help ease the admissions process for some. Prospective students applying to Ohio State for autumn quarter 2003 will see one of the commission’s first recommendations put into practice: Applicants will be asked to indicate both a first and a second choice of Ohio State campuses they would like to attend. Allowing students to choose their alternate location will help students find a way to attend Ohio State even if they are not admitted to the Columbus campus right away, Garland said.

“By offering students choices on when or where to start, and then providing them the possibility of moving to Columbus after they succeed, we can help students keep their college outlook positive,” Garland said.

Statistics also show that less well-prepared students who spend a year or two on a regional campus do very well once they get to Columbus. “Starting at a smaller, regional campus has attractive benefits to new freshmen who are not only experiencing the challenges of college-level learning, but living on their own for the first time and handling all its associated stresses,” Garland said.

Regardless of when or where a student starts, the Competitive Admissions Plan offers significant benefits to all prospective Ohio State students: a more qualified, more diverse, and better-prepared student body, and accessibility to one of the state’s greatest educational resources — both of which result in more college graduates in the state of Ohio.

“After all, it’s not about beginning college at OSU Columbus, it’s about getting a degree from Ohio State,” Garland said.