Temple University in Pennsylvania will no longer require standardized test scores for admissions, school officials announced.
"The Temple Option," is the university's new admissions path for students who don't think their potential for academic success is accurately captured by standardized tests scores. Applicants who choose the Temple Option will be required to submit self-reflective, short-answers to a four open-ended questions, USA Today reported.
"Temple supports the holistic evaluation of our freshman candidates, and we appreciate the many ways they can demonstrate their academic strengths and potential to succeed in college," according to the school's website. "In some cases, students might feel that test scores do not accurately represent their true potential for success.
According to the National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest), more than 850 accredited schools offering bachelor's degrees, including more than one-third of the top-ranked liberal arts colleges, have test-optional policies.
Temple University has introduced the Temple Option for undergraduate admissions during the current application cycle for freshmen who will be admitted in the fall of 2015.
According to USA Today, more than 30,000 students have applied to Temple for this upcoming academic year. Twenty-four percent of those applicants used Temple Option, 60 percent of those students completed all four of the short essay questions.
Of the applicants who completed the questions, 49 percent were admitted.
William Black, the university's senior vice provost of enrollment management, told USA Today that students' response to those questions will be analyzed by graduate students and admissions representatives "and given scores that are used in enrollment decisions."
"There are several constructs that we're looking for," Black said. "We're looking for self concepts, how they set goals, to what they attribute their successes and their failures and how do they think about the future. It's fairly narrowly defined, but we believe there is quite a bit of latitude to bring in their own experiences."
Students who choose the Temple Option will still be eligible for scholarships, wards and the Honors Program.