Ohio University's undergraduate admissions guidelines have stayed the same, but ACT averages are going down, and the number of students taking developmental classes is increasing, according to university research.
Average ACT scores dropped from 23.5 to 23.2 from fall 2004 to fall 2005, and the number of students in the top 10 percent of their classes decreased from 560 to 539. The total number of first-year students increased from 3,795 to 4,166, according to the First-Year Undergraduate Profile provided by the Office of Institutional Research.
Basic admissions guidelines are a class rank in the top 30 percent with a score of 21 on the ACT or 990 SAT, or a rank in the top 50 percent with an ACT score of 23 or 1060 SAT. Individual schools and colleges, such as journalism and business, have their own requirements. For local high school students, the guidelines are an ACT score of 17 or an SAT of 810.
The national ACT average score is 20.9, according to the ACT Web site, www.act.org.
Fourteen students in this year's freshman class had ACT scores between 11 and 15; six did last year. Eight-hundred and twenty students - 22.4 percent of the class of 4,166 - had scores between 16 and 20; 646 of 3,795 students scored in that range last year, and 467 of 3, 672 did the year before.
The Office of Admissions takes other factors into account for students who fall short of those guidelines, which include high school classes and post-secondary work, and students admitted with an ACT score between 11 and 15 have rare circumstances, such as a long absence from high school, Garcia said.
OU Provost Kathy Krendl said it is hard to pinpoint why scores are dropping while the guidelines have not changed.
I'm concerned about it
but I don't know the answer she said.
It could be the pool of applicants or academic preparation is changing, with fewer students taking math and sciences classes their last year of high school - which could translate to lower scores, she said.
More faculty members wrote letters and met with prospective students, and recruiters focused more on OU's academic options, she said.
The university did not have a wait list for this year's freshman class, Director of Admissions David Garcia said, because of the number of students with good solid credentials academically.
If students had the credentials, they were admitted, instead of slowing down the admissions process with a wait list, Krendl said.
But as test scores go down, the number of students placing into Math 101 is increasing, as is the number of students with ACT reading scores lower than 20.
The percentage of students who placed into Math 101, a developmental class taken before the Tier I-level Math 113, has doubled from Fall 1996 to Fall 2005, from 8.2 percent to 16.21 percent, according to The Advisor, a newsletter published by University College. The latter number increased from 14.08 percent in 2004.
More than 21 percent of ACT reading scores for Fall 2005 were under 20, increasing from 783 students to 866 students, for the 3,962 available ACT scores. Of 3,106 available reading ACT scores in 1998, 11 percent were under 20.
The increase in students taking developmental math classes is troubling for Matt White, a biological sciences professor and the chairman of the newly formed Faculty Senate Enrollment Management committee. Science classes require a lot of math, and if students must take preliminary classes before starting degree requirements, graduation could be delayed, he said.
That doesn't strike me as a particularly desirable situation
White said.
Although the average ACT score is fluctuating subtly, it still is slipping, he said.
Is it inching its way down? Yeah
he said. So we should make every effort to turn it around.
The university is offering more academic support, such as Supplemental Instruction sessions and tutoring, and encouraging closer contact with advisers to help students with less academic preparation, Krendl said.
Now we have to make sure students succeed
she said.
17
Archives
Magen Howard
