Rift emerges with IU admissions standards

A growing number of IU administrators said they believe the Bloomington campus should establish itself as an "elite" institution by raising the admissions bar for potential students, a move that others say would compromise IU's responsibility to provide an education to the state.\nAt the Rotary Club meeting Aug. 23 in the Indiana Memorial Union, IU President Adam Herbert said IU-Bloomington hopes to raise the academic prestige of the University by increasing admission standards.\n"We are laying a stronger and broader foundation for enhancing the University and moving it even higher among America's most distinguished universities," Herbert said. "Simultaneously, the board has challenged us to serve the state more extensively and build a more knowledge-based economy."\nLarry MacIntyre, director of IU media relations, said many at the University have a sense that Hoosiers would not want IUB to become an elite educational institution. He added the differences of opinion between some in the administration, including Herbert, Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Academic Affairs Charlie Nelms and new IU trustee Thomas Reilly Jr. will become more visible in the public realm.\n"It will be something Hoosiers will start to talk about in the coming year," MacIntyre said.\nRaising the quality of high school education would allow more Indiana high school graduates the opportunity to attend universities such as IUB, MacIntyre said.\nThe Indiana Core 40 Scholars Initiative is a part of a state and national effort to better prepare students for success in higher education through more rigorous academics in high school. Core 40 is Indiana's recommended high school curriculum for all students and is endorsed by the Indiana State Board of Education and Indiana Commission for Higher Education. \nIf IUB raised admission standards, average SAT and ACT test scores would go up ever so slightly every year, MacIntyre said.\nOver the past few years Purdue University dramatically increased its required SAT scores 10 to 20 points per year, said Reilly, the new trustee and chair of the higher education subcommittee.\n"As the SAT scores among students increase, faculty sense that they have a more alive environment," Reilly said. "Students attend class and challenge professors with questions, which charges up the faculty. The faculty begins to talk the place up, and more students become interested in the University."\nBut Interim IUB Chancellor Ken Gros Louis said the University is filled with success stories about students who come from a tough background and have blossomed at IUB. The University will be missing out on a lot of great assets if it starts turning people away, he said.\nHe noted IU's six-year graduation rates, which are top in the country. Last year, IU was expected to graduate only 59 percent of the class of 2005, as determined by high school records, but instead graduated 71 percent of the class. The year before that, IU graduated 72 percent, when only 58 percent was predicted.\nGros Louis also said he believes IUB can attract top students to the University without turning away those who are qualified.\n"I'm a big believer in trying to provide education to the state," said Gros Louis, who is also the senior vice president for academic affairs. "When we raise standards too much, we turn a lot of good people away from this place. If he or she meets our standards, then they should be able to come here. I don't like the idea of being elite."\nReilly, who was appointed in July by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels as a IU trustee, said the idea that IUB should raise admission standards is currently being discussed, but would take a considerable amount of time and planning if the policies were implemented. \nSpecific dynamics outlined in IU's Mission Differentiation report are driving the subject to raise admission standards, he said. The report states IUB should become more focused on becoming a research university.\n"If IU is going to establish and increase its rankings as a highly-ranked university, the way you do that is through research," Reilly said.\nReilly said he believes raising admission standards would aid in leading IU down the path to become an elite, research-based institution.\n"The standards at IU should be more selective to certain areas of studies," Reilly said. \nConcerns among many Indiana residents remain to be heard. Tens of thousands of parents in the state who attended IU want their children to attend their alma mater, regardless of whether or not they are qualified to study at the institution. Also, budget and funding concerns continue to raise red flags as Indiana has frozen the funding allotments awarded to every school in the state.\nReilly, however, said he sees the potential benefits of higher admission standards as something that outweighs the possible concerns.\n"In the end, the smartest kids in the state want to go and be with the smartest kids in the state," Reilly said. "I think IU should continue to be the center of the best liberal arts and sciences institutions in the state, and that comes with the students who attend the school."\nNelms did not return e-mails or phone calls by press time. Herbert could not be reached for additional comment.