Trustees raise admissions, tuition

The IU board of trustees approved several changes in University policy Friday that will affect admissions standards and tuition.\nAt their April meeting at IU-Southeast in New Albany, the trustees voted in favor of increasing tuition and implementing a set of admissions standards meant to attract better-qualified and prepared students to IU.\nTuition for nonresident undergraduate students will increase by 4.9 percent. Graduate and professional students will pay larger increases, including increases of up to 10 percent for law students and 8.8 percent for optometry students.\nTrustees said the tuition increases are necessary because of the high cost of providing an education, but said they want the quality of the education to increase with the costs.\n"Students are consumers, and they're looking for a product -- an education," said student trustee Casey Cox. "They're going to get the most out of what they pay. If we're going to be charging students more and more, we'll have to provide the best education possible."\nThe new admissions standards, which will go into effect in 2011, require students to have a minimum number of credits in five academic areas: eight semesters of English, seven semesters of math, six semesters of science, six semesters of social studies and four semesters of a foreign language. The standards will not go into effect for five years, trustees said, because Indiana high schools will need time to adjust to new requirements.\nThe Bloomington Faculty Council unanimously voted in approval of increasing admissions standards at a Feb. 21 meeting. \nCox said the new standards are meant to "better prepare our students before they get (to IU)" by giving them a grounding in the five academic areas and making sure students take academically rigorous classes.\n"It's like practicing basketball in high school," Cox said. "The more practice you have, the better you'll do in the game."\nIU Student Association President Alex Shortle said he thinks it will benefit current IU students to raise admissions standards in the future. Shortle said a more selective university might make IU diplomas more prestigious.\n"The general consensus among the students is that they'd like to see their diploma worth more," he said.\nThe new standards also have benchmarks for class ranks, grade point averages and SAT scores, specifying that in-state students should rank in the top 40 percent of their high school class and out-of-state students should rank in the top 30 percent of their high school class. The standards give preference to in-state students with SAT scores higher than the Indiana average, 1,012, and out-of-state students with SAT scores higher than the national average. Preference will also be given to students with a B-average or better. \nSeveral groups have publicly criticized the new admissions standards, saying they put minority and poor students at a disadvantage. Some critics said because poor and minority students historically have lower test scores and grade point averages, it will be harder for them to get into IU.\nBut Cox said he thinks IU will be able to maintain a diverse and welcoming campus.\n"At some point, sure there may have been a student who wouldn't be admitted (after the new standards are in place)," he said. "Students will still have the opportunity to attend one of the other IU campuses. Are we still welcoming and are we still open, and do we still have access? Absolutely"