NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Saturday, December 5, 2020
EOU goes ‘test-blind’ to benefi t incoming students
East Oregonian
LA GRANDE — Eastern Ore-
gon University no longer requires
standardized test results for fi nan-
cial aid.
The change the La Grande-based
university implemented benefi ts
incoming students and their fami-
lies, especially those from margin-
alized communities. The university
now will determine scholarships
and merit-based awards based on
students’ grades rather than ACT or
SAT scores.
The school’s Admissions Direc-
tor Genesis Meaderds said in a
press release becoming test-blind
makes EOU’s admissions process
smoother and easier to navigate for
prospective students.
“EOU has been test-optional for
years for admissions,” Meaderds
said. “The challenge was that we
never were test-optional for scholar-
ships and fi nancial aid, so students
were being admitted, and then if
they didn’t have SATs or ACTs on
fi le they were ineligible for many
merit-based scholarships.”
Meaderds met with a commit-
tee of university staff — Director
of Financial Aid Sandy Henry, the
Associate Vice President for Institu-
tional Effectiveness Holly Chason,
Vice President for Student Affairs
Lacy Karpilo and Assistant Athletic
Director Mary Barnett — for a year
to discuss the change.
The group reviewed studies that
found evidence of racial and socio-
economic bias in standardized tests.
Test anxiety or learning differences
Dick Mason/The Observer, File
Eastern Oregon University in La Grande no longer requires standardized test results for fi nancial aid.
also can impact students’ ability to
perform in this setting. The com-
mittee also found a student’s high
school grade point average is actu-
ally the best indicator of college
success.
“Through EOU’s internal anal-
ysis on incoming students,” EOU
spokesperson Vicky Hart explained,
“high school GPA remained the
strongest predictor of student suc-
cess, as defi ned by year-over-year
retention, even after controlling for
other variables including but not
limited to gender, age, race/ethnic-
ity, income and standardized test
scores.”
Hart said the committee sub-
mitted its recommendations to uni-
versity President Tom Insko for
approval.
“Getting this changed for fi nan-
cial aid is a big deal because now
students can receive aid just based
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
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WEDNESDAY
Mostly sunny
Periods of clouds
and sunshine
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and sun
Rather cloudy
Partial sunshine
36° 23°
39° 28°
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PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
40° 25°
46° 30°
42° 27°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
40° 23°
48° 27°
41° 26°
OREGON FORECAST
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
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Seattle
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35/24
Lewiston
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Astoria
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Pullman
Yakima 40/25
48/36
45/29
Portland
Hermiston
49/39
The Dalles 36/24
Salem
Corvallis
47/34
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
42/27
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
51/36
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Ontario
40/20
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WINDS (in mph)
Caldwell
Burns
33°
28°
42°
29°
67° (1982) 2° (2013)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
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Albany
47/37
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 41/27
48/36
Trace
Trace
0.18"
12.19"
11.59"
11.69"
HERMISTON
Enterprise
36/23
40/29
36°
23°
41°
28°
70° (1923) -1° (1972)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
49/34
Aberdeen
37/25
35/26
Tacoma
Yesterday
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Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
52/39
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
52/38
Today
Sun.
NE 4-8
NNW 4-8
NE 3-6
WSW 4-8
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
48/27
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2020
7:20 a.m.
4:11 p.m.
9:17 p.m.
11:44 a.m.
Last
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NATIONAL EXTREMES
on their GPA from high school,”
Meaderds said. “Students love that
because many of them just don’t
take those tests.”
Meaderds listed barriers to test-
ing that the pandemic exacerbated.
Many students had to travel out of
state to a testing center, pay signifi -
cant fees or acquire transportation in
order to take an SAT or ACT place-
ment test. Meaderds noted, though,
that EOU began the process of going
test-blind before the COVID-19
pandemic made standardized test-
ing even more diffi cult to access.
“It wasn’t a COVID question,
it was a student access question,”
she said in the press release. “As
an access to excellence institution,
EOU now has a very simple process:
they apply, send transcripts and get
an admissions decision, then they
automatically are eligible for aid.”
Admissions directors from every
university in Oregon met last Janu-
ary to release a statement that none
of the institutions would require
SAT scores for admission. EOU
has now stepped up that commit-
ment, no longer requiring test scores
even for the most selective scholar-
ships. Karpilo, the vice president
for student affairs at EOU, said the
action is in line with the universi-
ty’s strategic framework for expand-
ing student access, opportunity and
completion.
“By removing entrance exams
from our admission and fi nancial
aid considerations, we expect to
increase the number of highly quali-
fi ed students at EOU,” she said.
Meaderds added it has been
“amazing” to communicate directly
with parents and students about the
awards they’re immediately eligible
for.
“EOU is continuing what we
always strive for — providing access
to higher education,” she continued.
“With such a large portion of our
students coming from one or more
underserved communities, this is
just continuing to live out that aspect
of our mission.”
Oregon’s vaccine doses on track
to exceed earlier expectations
By JES BURNS
Oregon Public Broadcasting
SALEM — Oregon
health offi cials now antici-
pate receiving at least three
times as many initial doses
of the COVID-19 vaccine as
announced just a week ago.
The availability will depend
on the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration giving spe-
cial, emergency use authori-
zation for two new vaccines.
Joe Sullivan, an Oregon
Health Authority senior health
adviser, said on Wednes-
day, Dec. 2, it’s expecting to
receive approximately 35,100
doses of the Pfi zer vaccine
on Dec. 15, and then another
71,900 doses from Moderna
on Dec. 22.
“Both of those manufac-
turers have said that they will
give additional doses around
or on Dec. 29 or thereabouts
but those numbers are a little
more shaky as far as the exact
number,” Sullivan said.
These fi rst vaccines have
been earmarked for health
care professionals. The num-
ber of doses far exceeds the
30,000 that OHA said last
week it was expecting to get
Hans Pennink/Associated Press, File
Nurse Kathe Olmstead prepares a shot that is part of a pos-
sible COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the National Institutes
of Health and Moderna Inc., in Binghamton, N.Y., on July 27,
2020.
in December. The 100,000
doses are enough to give
about one-third of the state’s
health care workforce the fi rst
of two doses they’ll need to be
protected against COVID-19.
Sullivan said Oregon will get
enough doses to provide the
second shots to all 100,000
of those who received a fi rst
round, “and then we’ll also
vaccinate the rest of the health
care workers in January.”
Oregon is prioritizing
health care workers — nurses,
doctors and others work-
ing with or near COVID-19
patients for the fi rst avail-
able vaccinations. The state
has cautioned that it will take
months before doses will be
available to vaccinate mem-
bers of the general public.
Patient trials have shown
both vaccines to be 95%
effective after receiving the
second dose.
In addition to the federal
emergency approval pro-
cess, Oregon will conduct
a joint safety review of the
vaccines with other western
states before distributing any
vaccine.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 81° in Boca Raton, Fla. Low -19° in Antero Reservoir, Colo.
IN BRIEF
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Oregon parks offi cials seek
camper input
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
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SALEM — Making a reservation to
stay at an Oregon state park could soon
change, and the public has an opportunity
to have a say in how.
The advent of COVID-19 meant shut-
ting down all state parks last March, to
eventually be reopened in phases in early
summer, offi cials said in a news release.
That move exposed a need for more
fl exibility in reservation rules to allow
the parks department to better respond to
changing conditions.
In Northeast Oregon, state parks
include Wallowa Lake, Emigrant Springs,
Farewell Bend, Clyde Holliday and Unity
Lake.
The proposed change to Oregon law
includes implementing a fl exible range of
zero to up to $15 for transaction fees that
allow a camper to make, change or cancel
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a reservation.
Right now that cost is set at $8 for each
reservation.
The proposal would also add fl exibil-
ity to the reservation window, allowing the
agency to vary the window from same-day
reservations up to 18 months in advance
for specifi c camping sites.
That window is currently set from one
day to nine months in advance, across the
system.
Oregon Parks and Recreation Depart-
ment is accepting public comments on
the proposed changes through Jan. 15,
2021, by 5 p.m. A virtual public hearing is
scheduled for 6 p.m., Jan. 7, 2021.
For more information, or to submit a
comment, go to ubne.ws/3mLBAcZ.
Parks offi cials expect to present a fi nal
rule recommendation to the Oregon State
Parks and Recreation Commission in Feb-
ruary 2021.
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