TSU mulls tougher entrance criteria
Board to discuss upping required GPA, waiving test scores
Texas Southern University’s board of regents will discuss the possibility of increasing the school’s GPA requirements and waiving test scores in a special board meeting Monday, according to a meeting agenda.
The board’s committee for academic affairs, research and student life requested that the regents consider increasing the required GPA for prospective undergraduates from the current 2.5 to 3.5 or higher for the 2020-2021 academic year.
An independent audit released this week of TSU’s admissions standards found that over three years the university admitted 4,000 students who didn’t meet the college’s academic criteria, and gave $2.1 million in scholarship and financial aid to 917 students who failed to meet eligibility requirements.
The committee has also asked that admitted undergraduates be in the top 25 percent of their high school graduating class, and to waive standardized test scores, including the SAT and ACT, as “a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic.” Under the proposal, the number of test waivers for out-of-state first-generation students will be limited.
Currently, students are required to have a combined SAT score of 820 or higher if taken before March 2016 or 900 if taken after that date, according to the college. Those who take the ACT must earn a composite score of 17.
Regent Pamela A. Medina and Dr. Kendall T. Harris, provost and vice president for academic affairs, will present the proposals Monday.
The GPA standards at TSU could exceed the requirements of
other four-year institutions in the Houston area.
Prairie View A&M University, the region’s other historically black college, has a 2.8 GPA requirement for freshmen with a total score of 800 for the SAT and a composite score of 15 for the ACT.
The University of Houston has waived test scores during the pandemic, but typically considers students based on test scores and class rank. Students whose schools do not have class rankings are considered for admissions by individual review, according to the UH website.
UH-Downtown does not list GPA requirements on its website and will waive standardized tests for the upcoming academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For automatic admission at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, students must have a minimum GPA of 2.8. Testing is optional, but if submitted, the school accepts a minimum score of 1140 on the SAT or 23 on the ACT.
Monday’s meeting at Texas Southern will come just days after a board-ordered review of the college’s admissions and enrollment showed roughly half of those admitted in the combined fall 2017, 2018 and 2019 semesters did not meet academic criteria and were admitted “based on a variety of undocumented scenarios.”
The review by consulting firm
Berkeley Research Group also found that more than 900 students in the three fall semesters received a total of $2.1 million in scholarships despite not meeting qualifications for TSU scholarship or financial aid programs.
In addition to the proposed GPA guidelines, the board is expected to discuss the review during a closed executive session.
Vickee Gray, a vocal TSU alumna, said Friday that she wants to see the board’s full proposal Monday before commenting on it.
TSU, which has served generations of students since its founding in the days of segregation, began increasing its enrollment requirements in 2008 after decades of open enrollment. Under open enrollment, the college granted anyone with a high school diploma or a GED admission into an undergraduate program — an approach that community colleges typically offer students.
TSU’s 2008 policy, however, required its new students to graduate in the top 25 percent of their high school class or have a 2.0 grade point average in high school and score between 775 and 820 on the SAT or between 15 and 17 on the ACT. Those who did not meet those criteria were offered an opportunity
to participate in a summer program or referred to a community college.
John Rudley, TSU’s president at the time, said the new academic criteria could result in a drop in enrollment, which could be the case for the college in the 20202021 academic year if new requirements are imposed.
TSU’s enrollment, which was about 9,000 last fall, has seen some increases in recent years. Enrollment increased by roughly 16 percent from 8,862 to 10,237 in 2017 under former president Austin Lane, but decreased by 5 percent in 2018, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s website.
But for regents, increasing admission standards and being “the best HBCU rather than the biggest” are the main concerns, board chair Marc Carter said in a written statement.
“I believe community colleges are designed to prepare students for the rigors of four-year institutions like TSU. The students that don’t meet these standards simply are not ready to attend a four year program. It’s also not fair to the students that have done the work to gain acceptance,” Carter wrote. “These students and potential employers don’t care if TSU is the second largest HBCU in the country. What they care about is that the university is competitive, they are challenged and their degree has value.”