Mercyhurst University in Pennsylvania announced Tuesday that it has adopted a test-optional admissions policy for all applicants seeking undergraduate admission.

School officials at the Catholic liberal arts college believes there are better ways of measuring ability and predicting success than standardized tests. It is the first university in the Erie area to adopt a "test-optional" admissions policy.

"Mercyhurst does not believe in reducing students to numbers and has always championed a holistic approach to admissions," President Tom Gamble said in a statement. "Becoming test-optional allows us to focus more on the individual, which is consistent with our mission."

In recent years, more than 850 four-year colleges and universities in the United States have eliminated the standardized testing requirement, according to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing. Among them are schools top ranked by U.S. News & World Report, including Smith College and Bryn Mawr under National Liberal Arts Colleges; Wake Forest and New York University under National Universities; and, in Mercyhurst's category of Best Regional Universities in the North, top-10 ranked Providence College, Fairfield University, Loyola University (MD), University of Scranton and Ithaca College.

Christian Beyer, director of undergraduate admissions at Mercyhurst, said standardized tests are tools rather than ends in themselves, and they play a small role in identifying how successful applicants will later perform as college students.

Another key contributor to the university's policy change is the growing body of research that suggests standardized tests disadvantage certain applicants, among them underrepresented minority groups, first-generation students and applicants whose first language is other than English. In fact, the test requirement often deters some potentially strong students from even applying.

Beyer believes that by eliminating standardized tests as a required element of the application, the university will increase the number of applicants and increase diversity.

Exclusions to the new policy include student athletes, who must submit scores in compliance with NCAA's policy for evaluating athletic eligibility.