Analysis of Inequities in the Requirements for Admission to the University System of Georgia Analysis of Inequities in the Requirements for Admission to the University System of GeorgiaAfter the phase-in period, the USG will permit each institution to admit a limited number of applicants who qualify under reduced minimums for the FI. Also, "At research, regional, and state universities, students granted Limited Admission must also have completed the 16-unit CPC. At associate-level colleges, students may be considered for limited admission with 13 CPC units or completion of the technology/career preparatory diploma of the Georgia Department of Education in addition to other minimum requirements." The limit is defined as a percentage of each institution’s annual first-time freshman headcount enrollment. The percentage allowed is graduated by sector. The lowest sectors are allowed the highest percentage of limited admissions.
Effectively, the research, regional, and state universities may admit accredited applicants without the two or four extra CPC units usually required for those institutions. Associate-level colleges may admit accredited applicants with up to three deficiencies in the 16-unit CPC.
Section 3.01.01.C.2 .a of the handbook repeatedly states that a non-accredited applicant who fails to meet or surpass any SAT II, the fourth math, or the foreign language requirement "would have, if admitted as a Presidential exception," CPC "deficiencies…". It implies that non-accredited applicants who are deficient in the 16-unit CPC may only be admitted as Presidential Exceptions as explained in the section below. In other words, non-accredited applicants to all sectors, including associate-level colleges, must show equivalent validation of the 16-unit CPC or be admitted as a Presidential Exception.
Institutions in all of the sectors may admit accredited applicants under reduced Freshman Index requirements (aptitude and HSGPA). In contrast, reduced achievement levels are not permitted for non-accredited applicants for limited admission to any sector. Also, non-accredited applicants are not offered a method to validate preparation equivalent to the technology/career preparatory diploma.
"When evaluating students being considered for Limited Admission, institutions will utilize multiple measures, whenever possible, such as interviews, portfolios, and records of experiential achievements."
How these additional multiple measures would be applied and to what effect is unclear. Limited admissions students must still meet CPC and FI minimums, though reduced. The additional multiple measures do not help with meeting the CPC and FI minimums since those values are calculated from data on accredited school transcripts. Nor can they lift a student out of the limited admissions category to another in which such qualitative measures are not permitted. The mention of "interviews, portfolios, and records of experiential achievements" in this admissions policy is only a token reference to, but does not comply with, the BoR’s Policy Direction on Admissions which calls for the consideration of qualitative measures for special student cohorts.
This category is a special case of the Limited Admissions Category.
Under this category, "In very special and rare circumstances, Presidents of University System institutions may grant exceptions to the CPC and FI requirements for limited admission if the student shows exceptional promise for success". The applicant must also have a diploma from an accredited high school, have a GED diploma or meet Ability-to-Benefit requirements of U.S. Dept. of Ed.
The institutions will be required to report to the USG the names of those students granted Presidential Exceptions and the reasons. "Presidential Exceptions must be included in the maximum number of Limited Admissions allowed for an institution".
Non-accredited applicants will face the following steps to be considered for a Presidential Exception:There is little reason to believe that this is a realistic alternative for more than a few non-accredited students.
Any student admitted with CPC deficiencies in English or an SAT I verbal score below 430 must take a college placement exam (CPE) or COMPASS placement and exit test for English and reading.
Any student admitted with CPC deficiencies in math or an SAT I math score below 400 must take a college placement exam (CPE) or COMPASS placement and exit test for math.
Based on the student’s placement test score(s), the student will be exempted from or be placed in learning support.
Students with CPC deficiencies in other subject areas must take an additional (for credit) course in the subject area, but the course will not count toward the degree program.
Applicants must achieve a composite SAT I score in the 95th percentile.
The USG has no FI requirement for applicants in this category. "Students must
satisfy any CPC deficiencies in areas other than English or mathematics."Accredited applicants could use the high school transcript to prove CPC compliance in the subject areas outside of English and math.
Non-accredited applicants must satisfy CPC requirements outside of English and math some other way. Perhaps SAT II tests are a permissible means and/or perhaps the student must take an additional (for credit) science, social science, and foreign language course. The policy is unclear. Where required in other sections, such additional courses have not been permitted to count toward the student’s degree program.
Ultimately, this exception may be attractive to the outstanding, non-accredited applicant only because it is less burdensome than the alternatives.
A student in the joint enrollment program, while continuing his/her enrollment in high school as a junior or senior, enrolls in courses for college credit.
A student in the early admission program enrolls as a full-time college student following completion of the junior year in high school.
The minimum standards for both programs are:
Students with SAT I verbal scores of at least 530 who have not completed the final unit of high school English and/or social studies may be permitted to fulfill these high school requirements with the appropriate college courses. Students who have not completed the CPC requirements may be admitted through the joint enrollment program if they are enrolled in the necessary high school courses and are scheduled to complete the requirements by the end of their senior year. Other college courses may not be used to fulfill both the 16 high school CPC requirements and college degree requirements.
Students who do not necessarily meet all of the above criteria but who score at least 700 on the SAT I Mathematics test may enroll in college courses that require advanced mathematical ability;
Students who do not necessarily meet all of the above criteria but who score at least 700 on the SAT I Verbal test may enroll in college courses that require advanced verbal ability;
Students must exempt all LS requirements to qualify for the early admission program.
First of all, the labels "junior" and "senior" are not defined even for accredited applicants, but they are especially arbitrary for home study program students. Home study programs do not suffer the necessity of grouping students under such labels since they can focus simply on that preparation which the individual students most need.
A minimum HSGPA or numerical grade average is required and completion of the USG CPC is required. Since the USG will not accept a non-accredited transcript, then non-accredited applicants cannot meet these standards. Under these rules, the USG does not accept alternative methods, such as a portfolio, to demonstrate preparedness.
Home study programs certainly can appoint a principal or counselor as well as any other program. But, will a college accept the recommendation?
These requirements exclude non-accredited applicants from joint enrollment and early admission.
| About HEIR ||| Home ||| Contents ||| News ||| Opinion |