By upgrading admission standards
State board panel eyes getting tough on getting in
By IAN THOMPSON
Of the Emerald
Whether or not admission re
quirements to Oregon’s state uni
versities and colleges should be
changed is the subject of a current
study by a State Board of Higher
Education ad hoc committee.
The study is intended to deter
mine the academic success of a
20 percent sample of resident
students who graduated from high
school in 1976 and went directly to
college.
The committee is comparing
students' high school perfor
mance as indicated by grade point
averages, class ranking, and
courses against similar perfor
mance in college.
The study will help fill a large
information gap by examining how
students are performing academ
ically in Oregon, University High
School Relations Director Richard
Pizzo says.
The state board last fall initiated
the study, agreeing that Oregon's
modestly selective admission
standards need upgrading.
"The board started the study
out of concern for the lack of prep
aration by too many students in
basic courses to do collegaiate
work in composition, math and
reading skills," Pizzo says.
The state board is also con
cerned with declining student pro
ficiency in such basic college
courses as math and English.
"They are of the broad notion
that in prescribing high school cur
riculum, students would also be
betterprepared for college," Pizzo
says.
Currently, admission require
ments for state universities and
colleges require that a resident
high school graduate hold a grade
point average of at least 2.5. A
student may also be admitted if
GPA and Scholastic Aptitude Test
scores combine to indicate at
least a 2.0 college GPA. Those
two measures, and tuition, of
course, are the only requirements
for entry.
A state board move to change
admission requirements would, if
passed, require students to take
four years of English, three years
of math — including algebra,
geometry and advanced algebra
— two years of science and three
years of social science.
Many state board members, as
well as college and university ad
ministrators and faculty members,
approve of the require
ments. But still there are ques
JEB’S
“//you can find us”
SPECIAL
— A Good Dog
or
Best Burger
— Giant Homemade Fries
— Large Soft Drink
$2.00
(Good for the asking ’til
we hang our sign.)
Jeb’s Good Dogs
(next to Pegasus books)
tions.
University Admissions Director
James Buch says he doesn’t
know if such requirements might
confine the high schools, and
points out that even if such re
quirements were levied, the con
tent of courses would vary among
high schools.
Buch points out that students
applying to the University score
about seven to 10 points higher on
the SAT test than the nationwide
average of college applicants.
However, he notes the validity of
those test scores in college prep
aration can also be questioned.
University departments have no
way of precisely figuring how well
their students are performing
college-level work except through
a major study. Glenn Beelman,
assistant to the head of the math
department, says that on the av
erage, performance of non-math
majors in mathematics courses
has declined.
Beeman says that decline may
come from a change in the student
body that results in fewer science
majors. “These students probably
didn’t realize in high school they
would be needing math for such
majors when they go to college,”
Beeman says.
Beeman adds that there are
other factors, however.
"In general, the math depart
ment favors some math require
ment,’’ says Beelman, “but if they
continue to send us students that
aren't prepared well, we'll do our
best to prepare them for their
fields.”
The English department also
favors a high school English pre
requisite. Professors say they too
have noticed a decline in perfor
mance of non-English majors, but
there is no reliable way of estimat
ing student performance there
either.
According to administrators,
tightening admission require
ments may lessen student enroll
jl2A.cK^nzie\\
l Cojfee CoJl
World’s finest coffees j
Mexican and Swiss Chocolate ’
Rare and Exotic Teas
Steamed Bagels
Mayflower Buildi ng 782 East 11th 342-2071
merit in state universities and col
leges in the future. To lessen the
impact, any new requirements
would be phased in over a four
year period.
The new requirements would, in
many educators’ opinions, im
prove the quality of future stu
dents and encourage high
schools to give more emphasis to
college prep courses. It also may
give more credit to the opinion that
the University does give students
a higher quality education.
n
poppi's
GREEK PEASANT FOOD
WINE AND SPIRIT
8:00 AM - 10:30 PM daily,
closed Tuesdays,
9:00 AM -10:30 PM Sunday
675 E. 13th
Running shoes by:
NIKE-NEWBALANCE-BROOKS
ADIDAS-TIGER-ETONIC
The New “STABILIZER
for men and women
Etonic/KM Running shoes
Km 520 MEN
Km 720 WOMEN
SUGAR
PINE
RIDGE
99
Plus shorts, singlets by:
F.S. RUNNING GEAR • DOLFIN • ADIDAS •
SUB-4 • MOVING COMFORT
877 E. 13th
345-5584
(next to bookstore)
A wide assortment of calendars are on sale.
!ach week the prices are lowered.
20% off this week
40% off this week1
■60% off this week
Upstairs In
THE TRADEBOOK DEPARTMENT
13th & Kincaid 686-4331
Open: Mon-Fh 8:15-5:30 Sal 10:00-2:00
Tradebook Calendar Sale