Students and educators march through Wayne State University in Detroit to demonstrate in defense of education in the U.S. Nationally hundreds of thousands of students and education workers protested against the economic crisis. (Photo: Bryan Pfeifer), a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Wayne State to toughen admission standards in bid to boost reputation
12:11 PM, Dec. 14, 2011
By David Jesse
Detroit Free Press Staff Writer
A new admissions standard proposed for Wayne State University will require some students to take a summer program before allowing them to be admitted to the university.
The move from WSU President Allan Gilmour is part of a shake-up of admission standards as the school tries to improve its academic reputation by diverting students administrators feel need extra help to be successful at the Detroit university.
“This can’t be an open access university,” Gilmour told the Free Press in an exclusive interview this morning. “If we are admitting people who we shouldn’t admit, that isn’t fair to them.”
The moves are also being made to increase WSU’s graduation rate, which has been the lowest in the state the last three years. WSU had a 31% six-year graduation rate last year.
That’s too low and doesn’t serve students well, Gilmour said. He also concerned about a funding proposal in Lansing possibly tying state aid to graduation rates and other performance measures.
Gilmour said that admissions staffers will be looking carefully at a student’s entire transcript and life to make judgment calls on who will succeed at the school.
“Can this student prosper coming to WSU? We’ve got the capacity. We can take everyone who should be here,” he said.
WSU isn’t changing its standards for graduation, just trying to admit better prepared students who can meet the standards, he said.
Gilmour briefed the Board of Governors on the plan in an executive session last week. He also spoke to an advisory group earlier this month about the plan, which has been in the works since Gilmour came to WSU more than a year ago.
Some who have heard some early details of the plan say they’re concerned WSU is looking to drive minority students from campus and that it could disproportionately fall on graduates of Detroit Public Schools.
Gilmour said that’s not the case. He said administrators analyzed how the pool of current applicants would be affected and found that under the proposed system, the number of students of color would change by no more than 2%.
He also stressed that WSU isn’t trying to drive away DPS students, adding that students from other districts have applied and also appear to need the extra help.
The new admissions process still needs to be approved by the Board of Governors. That approval could come as early as February. The new admissions standards could start with the class entering in the fall of 2013.
The process will require WSU’s admissions staff to look more carefully at the applications the school receives.
About 70% of the applicants are “no-brainer” acceptances, Gilmour said. What he’s focused on is the remaining 30%.
Some in that group will be required to attend a summer bridge program on WSU’s campus. Others won’t be accepted, and perhaps community college recommended as an alternative.
There is no official numerical cut-off for GPA or ACT scores for directing applicants into the bridge program, Gilmour said. But administrators believe high school students with a GPA in the high-2.0 to low 3.0 range and an ACT score between 18 and 22 would most likely fit into the bridge program.
The students would spend the summer taking classes in English, algebra and also complete a program focused on how to be a successful student. The bridge program and lodging in WSU’s residence halls will be free of charge.
If a student passes with a 2.0 grade-point average, he or she will be admitted. Once admitted the student will enter a special two-year curriculum and counseling package designed to guide them towards graduation.
If a student fails the bridge program classes, WSU will counsel to help find their student a community college, vocational training or even the military as another option.
Contact David Jesse: 313-222-8851 or djesse@freepress.com
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