BFC plan to raise admission standards

Some prospective freshmen might not have the option to attend IU-Bloomington if the current undergraduate admission standards undergo proposed changes.\nA draft of a proposal to revise the admission standards presented to the Bloomington Faculty Council Tuesday would require admitted students to have a higher class standing and more completed credit hours in high school courses.\nThe Educational Policies Committee drafted the proposed model for increased academic standards. According to the policy, this preliminary proposal is "intended to stimulate discussion about the revision of the current admissions policies for IU as a whole and for the Bloomington campus in particular."\nAccording to the EPC draft, multiple academic standards are being considered for the IUB campus, including the need to improve the academic quality of the undergraduate student body because IUB "does not compare to those of our peer institutions". \nBFC President Ted Miller said 25 percent of the current undergraduate student body fails to meet current academic entrance standards at IUB that were set 45 years ago.\n"What we need to do is bring Bloomington into compliance with a policy that went into affect 45 years ago," Miller said.\nDon Hossler, associate vice president for enrollment services, reported that the University needs to move forward with issues when the committee discussed undergraduate enrollment and admission standards issues.\n"This University hasn't moved forward because we are frozen in place with potential problems," Hossler said. "We just need to do something about this."\nThe BFC meeting was the first opportunity for the EPC to present an undergraduate admissions policy draft to the council.\nWilliam Wheeler, co-chair for the EPC, said applicants are currently required to complete 28 to 34 credits of college preparatory courses, where one credit traditionally means one semester course. There is a strong emphasis on the proposal to strengthen course requirements for admission by completing a minimum of 34 credits of college preparatory courses, Wheeler said.\nHowever, increased SAT scores are not a high priority on the draft. Applicants are required to score above the median established by Indiana students on national standardized admissions tests, such as the ACT or the SAT.\nAdmitting students above the median ACT or SAT score is the current policy, said John Carini, the EPC's other co-chair.\n"I think that the standards that we are proposing are aimed at increasing the level of preparation for students," Carini said, referring to the proposed increase of preparatory courses. "As a byproduct you might see SAT scores rise. My goal is to increase the level of preparation for the students who attend this University so they can get the most out of their years here."\nWheeler said high class standings portray a student's overall achievements while SAT scores merely provide a student's testing ability.\n"We argue here that achievement is more valuable than aptitude," Wheeler said.\nApplicants with college freshman standing would also be required to rank in the top third of their high school graduating class. The committee would take into consideration that many high schools in Indiana no longer record class ranks, Wheeler said, adding that graduating in the upper half of some high schools can be comparable to being in the upper third at other institutions.\nThe EPC is sensitive to budgetary consequences of admission policies, and took that possibility into consideration when proposing the model, according to the draft. IU-Bloomington Interim Chancellor Ken Gros Louis agrees that financial matters are of legitimate concern.\n"I think the policy presented is the first step in what I believe will be a long and complicated debate," Gros Louis said. "The intent is to raise admission standards, but we need to be sensitive to issues of finances and access."\nThe preliminary draft discussed at the meeting will go back for further discussion and be presented to the board for a final motion sometime in the near future. \n"The key thing with this is that this is not yet a formal proposal," Carini said. "These are just minimums we are setting up. We're putting it out there for discussion so we can see what the faculty and students have to say"