Should a student’s GPA matter more than test scores? UNC considers admissions changes.
A committee of the UNC System Board of Governors wants to change universities’ admission standards to give schools more flexibility in what students they admit.
If a proposal is approved by the full board in March, students could be admitted to a UNC System institution with a minimum 2.5 weighted high school GPA or an SAT score of 1010 or an ACT score of 19.
Anna Nelson, chair of the Committee on Educational Planning, Policies and Programs, made clear this would not make UNC System admissions test-optional. Under this proposal, testing is still required, and students will still have to submit those SAT or ACT scores.
Currently, students need a minimum weighted high school GPA of 2.5 and a combined SAT score of 880 or ACT composite score of 17.
The change is based on UNC System data analysis and national research that shows that GPA is a better predictor of student success and graduation rates than standardized test scores. It would apply to students applying to enroll in fall 2021.
The proposal is backed by a pilot program that allowed Elizabeth City State University, Fayetteville State University and N.C. Central University to modify the standard minimum admissions requirements for new first-time freshmen students.
Between 2015 and 2019, the three historically black institutions used a sliding scale and had the flexibility to admit students with standardized test scores, including SAT and ACT, below the existing standard — as long as the applicants had a higher high school GPA. The UNC System Minimum Admissions Requirements Pilot showed no statistical difference in academic performance between those students and students admitted under the regular admissions standards.
David English, UNC System vice president for academic programs, faculty and research, said this policy is not intended to tell an institution who they should admit.
“We’re trying to figure out the best policy for who the UNC System should tell institutions they’re not allowed to consider,” English said.
Is GPA or SAT and ACT scores more important?
Committee member Steven Long said he was concerned about the 2.5 GPA not being reliable enough on its own.
Long said GPA is not a set standard, and grading patterns are different at different schools. So there needs to be some other objective indicator to consider when evaluating whether an applicant is ready to go through a four-year academic program, he said.
“You need another standardized test score to determine whether that person is prepared,” Long said. “Just taking the test isn’t enough.”
Committee member Dwight Stone said it’s unfair to say that test scores won’t be considered under this proposed policy. He said it also comes down to the issue of accessibility and the 20,000 students that this change may affect.
“I don’t believe everybody is made to go to a four-year institution,” Stone said. “But I think they ought to have the right to apply.”
Adam Schmidt, the student representative on the board, said this policy creates access for students and serves the UNC System’s mission.
“This is our chance to really put action to our words and open doors to students,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt said campuses are still going to want to admit students who they think will be successful because they want to meet their strategic goals. Those goals include enrolling diverse students and improving graduation rates.
After the meeting, Elwood Robinson, chancellor of Winston-Salem State University, said he supports the change because it gives an institution flexibility to design the kind of admission standards that can best serve the students at their own university. And GPA contextualizes a student’s high school experience, which doesn’t happen with national standardized tests, he said.
Winston-Salem State has spent years analyzing data to determine who’s a good fit for the institution, who will be successful and what kind of metrics lead to the best outcomes for students. Robinson said they’ve determined GPA is the best indicator based on the data.
A student’s GPA says a lot about the student’s ability to compete with their peers, Robinson said.
The education committee voted to approve the revision to the UNC policy Thursday, with Long casting the only opposing vote. The issue will now go before the full board at the March meeting.
Updating policies after ECU trustee issue
Also on Thursday, the Board of Governors Committee on University Governance discussed clarifying trustee and board member duties and possible sanctions for those who violate policies.
The discussion came in the wake of a scandal involving East Carolina University Board of Trustees members meddling in a student government election by offering to help fund a student candidate’s campaign in exchange for future support.
The incident was brought to the UNC System board to investigate. The board held two hearings, and both trustees ended up resigning from the ECU board.
Committee Chair David Powers said the biggest takeaway with the ECU issue, regardless of people’s views on the trustees’ actions, was that the process had a lot of holes in it. He said the due process was “pretty weak.”
Board members also discussed actions by Board of Governors members. Tom Fetzer was criticized after he initiated a rogue investigation of former ECU chancellor Dan Gerlach, which ultimately resulted in Gerlach’s resignation. Fetzer was also previously reprimanded for interfering in the Western Carolina University presidential search process.
Thursday’s meeting was a brainstorming session, where board members agreed they need more clarity and details addressing board member actions, including anonymously releasing confidential board information to reporters, submitting complaints to campus and UNC System boards, and lobbying student board members.
Powers said he was also putting together a group of student body presidents, chancellors, board members, trustees and faculty to review student election procedures. He said he doesn’t want to change things that are working well, but wants to ensure, particularly on the money side, that there are no opportunities for the ECU situation to happen again.
UNC System General Counsel Tom Shanahan and his staff will draft a document with these ideas for the committee to review and edit at the next meeting. They made clear this process will take place over several meetings and they hope to have something to vote on by May.
The full board will meet at 10:30 a.m. in Chapel Hill Friday for its regular February meeting.
