University admissions
Saturday, August 29, 2009
IT’S A SOBERING thought — especially to new Kansas University students and their parents — that KU officials expect about one in five students to leave the university by the end of their freshmen year.
That figure isn’t new, but it came up again recently in a conversation about the possibility of making admissions standards for KU more stringent. University officials say that raising admissions requirements will make sure students are better prepared for the academic rigors of university work.
The Kansas Board of Regents apparently agrees that some changes are in order and successfully lobbied the Kansas Legislature last session to gain the authority to make those changes without legislative approval. ...
It took a long time for the state to accept even the minimal admissions standards currently in place for Kansas high school graduates. ...
Sending unprepared students to state universities is a waste of university resources as well as being a frustrating and expensive situation for students who fail to measure up.
Such students shouldn’t be denied a university education, but it makes better sense for them to improve their academic skills at a community college before taking on university work.
A likely tactic would be for the regents to focus first on higher admissions standards for one or more of the state’s “big three” universities — KU, Kansas State and Wichita State. ...
Marlesa Roney, KU vice provost for student success, makes a great point when she says, “The goal is to graduate from KU, not just to be admitted.” Admitting students who can’t handle the work that will lead them to a university degree really serves no one.
Setting the bar a little higher, at least for some state universities, makes sense. Perhaps Kansas high schools will take higher admissions standards as a challenge to make sure their graduates measure up.
Lawrence Journal-World
Aug. 23
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Maximus (anonymous) says...
The University of Kansas will never reach top-50 with its current 91.8 % acceptance rate (higher than KSU or WSU). And the governor wants KU to be a top-50? KU belongs where it is in the US News and World Report ratings. But, KU has a good basketball team; and that's what really matters here in the heartland.
August 29, 2009 at 6:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )