University of Akron (UA) trustees has approved a new admission plan that exudes out first-year students who aren't ready for a four-year college.
By using an aggregate of high schools' GPA and ACT scores, the university officials would group students in three categories: preparatory, emergent and college-ready.
Students, who come under the "preparatory category", would be assigned to area community colleges before being accepted at UA. In fact, the university started shifting students to community colleges last year itself.
"We shouldn't have those students start here. We're not excluding them; we're including them on a pathway to the University of Akron. For some students, we won't be their first step. We'll be their second step," said Mike Sherman, senior vice president and provost.
Sherman said that students earning their credits from several community colleges will be taken into consideration at UT.
Emergent students are characterised as little less ready than college-ready students, who are completely groomed to undertake agreed pressure of post-secondary classes.
Currently, 19 percent of students are estimated to be preparatory, 21 percent emergent, and 50 percent college-ready.
In the recent times, Ohio four-year public schools are reducing the number of students for remedial course work as the legislators have cut funding for such classes.
This has in turn forced the colleges to develop an effective admission process and introduce the most academically and fiscally efficient post-secondary learning process for students and state-funded universities.
With the implementation of the new process, 857 "preparatory" students accepted last fall will be reduced by 25 percent each year through 2017.
Area education experts also find it to be a valuable process in shifting students from a more expensive and less productive college path.
"They were leaving with nothing except debt," said Derran Wimer, executive director of Summit Education Initiative (SEI).
After examining data over the past three years, Akron researchers have stated that GPA scores accurately predict student success than the ACT, at least for their freshman year.
Sherman said that students with less GPA's and ACT scores have just below 10 percent chance of earning a graduate degree. Thus, the new plan allows the university officials to select prospective students who have the potential to complete their freshman year, which in turn, enhances the institutions' positive image.
