Scholarly high school students in Oregon will gain an express lane into state colleges starting next year.
A committee for the Oregon State Board of Higher Education unanimously approved on an automatic admission policy Thursday, set to begin in 2012, that will guarantee students entrance into one of Oregon’s seven public universities so long as they meet certain test score and course work requirements.
The decision corresponds with the phasing in of tougher diploma standards for high school students over the next three years. The gradual changes will eventually require improved reading and writing skills, and students will have to take additional classes in math, science and foreign languages. Students that keep up with these new standards will remain eligible for automatic admission. State officials feel this is a way to encourage students to embrace the new challenges.
“This is a major step in aligning the new high school standards with admission requirements,” Oregon University System Chancellor George Pernsteiner said last week in a press release. “There are several pathways to admission, and this adds a system-wide one that recognizes students who have exceeded the more rigorous standard of achievement in high school.”
In addition to meeting the future diploma requirements, students will also need to apply with at least a 3.4 grade point average and earn a strong score on either the SAT, the ACT or the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS). For writing, that means a score of at least 550 on the SAT, 40 on the OAKS, or 7 on the ACT.  For math and reading, a score of least 550 on the SAT, 250 on the OAKS, or 25 on the ACT will be required.
An automatic admission already exists at the University and has been in place for several years. The requirements are very similar, demanding the same minimum GPA and only one additional core class unit. However, the new policy will not only guarantee the continued presence of this policy at the University, but will open doors to all other state universities as well.
“Before, the only university that had an automatic admission policy was the University of Oregon; the other universities in our system did not have one,” Sona Andrews, OUS vice chancellor of academic strategies and presenter of the admission proposal last week, said. “What this does is creates a policy for the entire system.”
Prospective students will not need to apply separately for automatic admission and will simply need to complete a regular application by Feb. 1 to their first-choice university. But students can still be denied entrance to that institution even if they earn automatic admission status. Because the new policy will apply to the entire OUS system, students may only be guaranteed entrance into one of the seven Oregon universities, and that may not be the one to which they applied.
Nevertheless, the new automatic admission policy is widely revered by state officials. Many hope that it will strengthen the tie between Oregon’s secondary education and its collegiate institutions and help prepare high school students for the rigors of university life.
“Student performance in high school is directly linked to future successes in college and career,” State Superintendent Susan Castillo said last week. “(This is) an important first step in aligning our expectations to the level of proficiency that is needed to succeed in college-level studies.”
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