The University
of North Dakota will greet the best-prepared freshman class
in its history this fall as measured by high school grade
point averages and by performance on the ACT exam.
After a three-year study, the University has raised its admission
standards to ensure that all students in all classes are equally
ready for a UND learning experience, said President Charles
E. Kupchella. “The implications of this are enormously
positive,” he said, “not only for individual students
but also for their families, the University, and the state
of North Dakota.”
UND previously required a composite ACT score of 17 and a
high school grade point average of 2.25 for automatic
admission. The new standards — over and beyond the
core requirements of the North Dakota University System —
are set at an ACT score of 21 and a GPA of 2.5
for automatic admission, although the Admissions Committee
uses a sliding scale. Thus, an ACT of 22 and a GPA
as low as 2.25 will get you in, as will a GPA
of 3.5 and an ACT as low as 18.
For applicants who are not admitted outright, there is also
a provisional admission category. Such enrollees are limited
to no more than 15 credits for the first semester. They must
also enroll in an “Introduction to University Life”
course or a study skills course, and meet twice during the
first semester with a professional staff person in the University
Learning Center.
Beyond the distinctive academic “sizzle” brought
to a campus by a highly qualified student body, the new standards
will result in higher retention and graduation rates. Up to
now, UND typically lost about 25 percent of its freshman class
between the first and second years, and had a six-year graduation
rate of about 54 percent. These figures are better than the
national average, Kupchella said, but still not good enough.
Why not?
Research by the Pell Institute and others has found that leaving
college before graduating can sometimes incur greater liability
than never having attended, Kupchella said. The result can
be a delay of the increased earning power that a degree typically
provides, compounded by the likely burden of loan payments
that will reduce income even further.
| The State Board of Higher Education
mandates high school “core” requirements
that all North Dakota University System students
must meet. The statewide standards include four
units of English, including the development of written
and oral skills; three units of mathematics at the
Algebra I level and above; three units of laboratory
science; and three units of social studies. Additional
admission standards are left to the discretion of
the campuses. |
|
When it announced its new standards, the University said its
freshman class would be smaller than those that have set records
in recent years. That will likely be the case compared to
last year’s incoming class of 2,169 first-year students,
said Robert Boyd, vice president for student and outreach
services. But, he predicted, the group is still likely to
reach the University’s Strategic Plan target of 1,850
new freshmen.
Already there is evidence of self-selection, Boyd said. The
number of applications — although still numbering in
the thousands — was down about 10 percent in early May.
However, the average ACT score of the applicants is
up nearly a point, to 23.9.
“UND respects this great state’s long tradition
of open access to its higher education system,” Boyd
said. “And all of us know of individuals who were ‘late
bloomers’ and did much better in college than anyone
would have guessed. I believe we have enough flexibility in
our approach to take this factor into consideration.”
It’s not too late
to apply for admission
July 1 is the published deadline for fall semester
admission, but UND will process applications from
students meeting the undergraduate admission standards
right up to the opening of school. For more information,
go to: www.go.und.edu
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|
He noted that the University offers no remedial courses.
Students needing these are encouraged to spend a year at a
community college or another institution with programs designed
to correct weaknesses in a student’s academic background.
In fact, a growing number of institutions — 64
at last count — have negotiated formal agreements
with UND to ease the transfer process.
And to those who worry that the higher standards may end the
pattern of record overall enrollments at UND each fall, Kupchella
points out a paradox.
After an initial decline, most universities that raised academic
standards have seen demand increase for admission, particularly
from out-of-state students who are shopping for a good school.
A study conducted by Cullen Goenner and Sean Snaith of the
UND Department of Economics suggests that this phenomenon
is likely to occur here. They also point out that higher retention
rates will have the effect over time of increasing overall
enrollment.
The optimum size of the University — including its mix
of undergraduate and graduate students and on-campus and distance
students — must be driven by a strategic plan, not by
something as simplistic as a “bigger is better”
mentality, Kupchella said.
This is especially true, he adds, in an environment in which
both state and federal governments are signaling that tax
revenues should no longer be relied upon to fund expansion.
Thus, UND is taking enrollment management to a new level,
he said, including a program-by-program analysis of enrollment
capacity.
In the meantime, he intends to celebrate the imminent
arrival of UND’s best freshman class ever.
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