Wake Forest Provost Says It's Time To Take A Higher Road In Higher Education Admissions

Wake Forest Provost Says It's Time To Take A Higher Road In Higher Education
Admissions

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., April 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Experts who shared
research on college admissions at Wake Forest University last week displayed
varying opinions on the value of the SAT, but most agreed that standardized
test scores should not overshadow other vital information needed to provide
equitable access to all qualified applicants.

Wake Forest Provost Jill Tiefenthaler, their host for a two-day conference,
"Rethinking Admissions," sees growing interest in reducing the emphasis on
standardized tests, a move Wake Forest made last year by making the SAT
optional for applicants.

"The national conversation initiated by this gathering represents the first
step on a higher road in higher education, beginning with more equitable
admissions processes," Tiefenthaler said. "In his address to Congress,
President Obama cited an urgent need to expand the promise of education by
making higher education more affordable, and he set a goal for America to
again have the highest portion of college graduates in the world by 2020. To
reach that goal, colleges must re-examine their selection methods to ensure
they are providing equal opportunities to deserving students from all
socioeconomic backgrounds."

As provost, Tiefenthaler has led strategic planning efforts at Wake Forest and
backed key initiatives in admissions and enrollment. She is also a professor
of economics, and her research often focuses on the economics of the family.
She told participants that the admissions issue is a topic that is close to
her heart.

"I've worked closely with families on a variety of community-action programs,
and I know how terribly important a college education is to high-achieving
students--and the challenges the admission process represents to people who
are facing it for the first time," Tiefenthaler said.

Addressing those challenges requires different approaches at different
institutions, as the wide range of conference presentations illustrated.

Some with large endowments, such as Harvard, are focusing on increasing
financial aid to low-income students.

Public universities, facing political considerations, are taking a variety of
steps. The University of Virginia has eliminated its early decision option.
The University of Texas reports 10 years of success with its "top 10 percent
solution," which guarantees admission to every in-state student in the top 10
percent of their high school class to any school in the University of Texas
system. The University of California system has been wrangling over the use
of standardized tests for 40 years and will implement a new policy in the fall
of 2011, which drops the SAT II subject tests but retains the SAT I.

Wake Forest has begun emphasizing interviews to get a better sense of personal
qualities that numerical assessments cannot quantify.

"College admissions practices need to reflect the values of the institution,"
Tiefenthaler said. "At Wake Forest, our process reflects the value of
educating the whole person."

Pulitzer-prize winning author and journalist Daniel Golden skewered the
nation's elite universities in his keynote address, "Slumdog Ivy Leaguer," by
suggesting that there are numerous ways those institutions use special
preferences and backdoor methods to admit the children of alumni, corporate
tycoons, Hollywood celebrities, influential politicians and athletes--all in
the pursuit of philanthropic dollars needed to support the enterprise of
higher education. Golden believes that elite colleges should find other ways
to maintain the loyalty of their alumni, beyond rewarding their commitment
with preferential treatment in admissions.

One participant commented that it was unusual for such a frank discussion
about controversial university policies to take place at a university.
Tiefenthaler explained why Wake Forest organized the event.

"We wanted to be a catalyst for this national discussion," Tiefenthaler said.
"When you make a bold decision, such as Wake Forest has done in its admissions
process, you must be ready to defend your position. You must also be open to
criticism and flexible enough to adapt and learn throughout the process. I
applaud the open discussion we have shared at this conference, and we look
forward to sharing the results of our first class crafted on an SAT-optional
model."

SOURCE Wake Forest University

Eric F. Frazier of Wake Forest University, +1-336-758-5237, frazieef@wfu.edu;
or Ellen Sedeno, +1-214-546-8893, esedeno@sternersedeno.com