New Hoosier class raises the bar

Every freshman class at IU believes it is the best and brightest of the crop. The same is true for the class of 2012.

Fortunately for them, recently released numbers seem to support this theory. The average combined math and verbal SAT scores for first-year students was 1,151, up five points from last year. Seventy-three percent ranked in the top quarter of their high-school class.

Moreover, of the 7,564 students enrolled as freshmen this academic year, 62 percent are Indiana residents, the largest number in 10 years. This increase in the number of bright in-state students can be credited to initiatives such as IU Excellence scholarships, which provide merit-based awards to Indiana residents who choose to attend IU.

The fact that IU is committed to attracting in-state students is impressive, considering other public schools have been doing quite the opposite. Indeed, as state schools struggle to raise money, they are looking to out-of-state students as a potential source of revenue.

Beginning this year, California State University offered lower tuition rates for students from Washington, Oregon, Montana and a dozen other Western states. The University of Nebraska and the University of Tennessee also offer tuition discounts to select out-of-state students. So, it is nice to know that IU is able to provide quality education to Indiana residents – a function of any good public school.

While we applaud IU’s efforts at attracting such a talented and diverse group of freshmen, the challenge arises in retaining these students. More than one in three Indiana natives who stay in state for school leave after graduation, according to a 1999 study by the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute, a governmental research organization. And 90 percent of those who leave the state for college never return.

Recognizing the harmful effects posed by the state’s brain drain problem, Gov. Mitch Daniels has proposed the Hoosier Hope Scholarships. As part of the merit-based program, a maximum of $20,000 will be awarded to Indiana students who choose to stay in the state for a minimum of three years after graduating. Of course, none of these initiatives can work unless Indiana state officials are committed to expanding the state’s economy and creating more jobs.

Any school is only as good as its students, and we are pleased that IU is committed to raising the admissions bar. However, there needs to be an acknowledgment that this is only the first step in reshaping Indiana’s higher education system. Nevertheless, looking at these numbers, we are convinced that University administrators are up for the challenge.