UL board ups standards

• By JORDAN BLUM
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Oct 24, 2009 - Page: 1A

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The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Southeastern Louisiana University and the other schools in the University of Louisiana System will toughen their admissions standards beginning in 2011.

After the UL System Board of Supervisors approved the changes Friday, college officials touted the need to improve university student readiness as the main reason for heightening standards.

“It’s increasing expectations and, hopefully, our students can be more successful,” UL System President Randy Moffett said. “We’re very proud of this step. We think it’s something all (college) systems should do.”

The highest-ranked schools in the system, UL-Lafayette and Louisiana Tech University, will up their grade point average standards from 2.5 to 2.6 in 2011. ACT score requirements will go from 23 to 24.

However, the schools have an either/or setup that will require a 2.6 GPA or a 24 ACT score, instead of requiring both. Another “or” offers the option of students qualifying by graduating in the top 25 percent of their high school classes if they do not meet the GPA or ACT standards.

The students all must complete the high school “core” class requirements and have at least a 2.0 GPA.

Southeastern, Nicholls State University, McNeese State University, Northwestern State University, Grambling State University and the University of Louisiana at Monroe will increase their GPA requirements from 2.0 to 2.35 or require a 21 ACT score — up from a 20 ACT — or students must graduate from the top 50 percent of their graduating classes.

The 7 percent to 10 percent exceptions allowed will still require 2.0 GPAs of exempted students.

All the schools will begin with the new standards in 2011 except Grambling, which will start in 2012.

Southeastern President John Crain said the upped standards will hurt enrollment only in the “short term” as students adjust.

Too many students entering SLU are not prepared for college now, Crain said. Such students will do better starting in community colleges and then transferring to universities, he said.

About 500 current UL System students would not meet the increased standards, according to the UL System.

The system’s six-year graduation rates range from 52 percent for Louisiana Tech to 28.4 percent for Nicholls.