TSU regents eye new standards for admission
Re-structuring could send some students to a community college if goals are not met


By JEANNIE KEVER
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

For decades, Texas Southern University has accepted almost anyone who wanted to enroll, but that may be about to change.

Regents got a preview on Friday, including the possibility that students who don't meet the new standards could be shifted to a community college for a year or two before transferring to TSU.

Other suggestions involved moving the school's best teachers to first-year courses and even making class attendance mandatory.

"We're not talking about closing doors," said James Douglas, interim provost and senior vice president. "We're talking about creating a different structure."

Douglas, a former TSU president and longtime law professor there, briefed regents on the ideas being considered as part of new college President John Rudley's attempts to overhaul the school.

Other options include requiring minimum scores on the SAT and ACT — currently, students don't even have to take the college entrance tests — and requiring those who don't meet the standards to attend a summer program.


Upcoming vote
Regents will vote on the issue May 9. Even if changes are approved, few could take effect before fall 2009, Douglas said.

Rudley first suggested tightening admissions criteria almost immediately after taking office in February. But Friday he said he wants to talk with more people before making specific recommendations.

Open admissions is a popular way to make college accessible for students from the neighborhoods around TSU. But it also is blamed for the low graduation rate — just 16 percent of TSU students earn a bachelor's degree within six years, compared with 55 percent of college students statewide.

Higher standards could help with that but would probably cause enrollment to drop, as well. And that could mean less state funding.

Board Chairman Glenn Lewis of Fort Worth said the governor's office has seemed receptive to granting a temporary reprieve from any financial repercussions caused by higher standards. Still, there have been no guarantees.

Enrollment has been dropping even with open admission. The number of first-time freshmen dropped from 1,980 students in 2005 to just 1,288 last fall.

Several regents attributed that to "bad publicity" about former TSU president Priscilla Slade and allegations that she spent $500,000 in school money on herself. Slade agreed as part of a plea bargain last month to repay the school $127,672.18 and spend 10 years on probation.

Students who didn't meet the higher standards could be shifted to a community college under Douglas' vision. He said talks about the idea have started with several community college systems but nothing has been signed.

He also has recommended strengthening the school's remedial education classes. That, too, could ultimately mean more people graduating from TSU.

"Right now, we have too many students leaving with a debt," he said. "We're not going to remove the debt, but we want to make sure they leave with a diploma."

quote:

Originally posted by Alpha72:

Regents got a preview on Friday, including the possibility that students who don't meet the new standards could be shifted to a community college for a year or two before transferring to TSU.


Other options include requiring minimum scores on the SAT and ACT — currently, students don't even have to take the college entrance tests — and requiring those who don't meet the standards to attend a summer program.

."

Comments from a few readers.



dumbfounded wrote:
Hopefully we are at the point in todays society that only people who are qualified and financially able to attend colleges are being allowed to do so.
4/12/2008 7:13:13 AM
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dumbfounded wrote:
Why would you allow people into a school that are not academically ready for college?? Sounds like it was all about money before the new admin. took over.
4/12/2008 6:35:23 AM
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zarec wrote:
If you have $750 and you spend $514 on new rims and then buy $200 worth of crack and sell it at 2.5 times what you paid for it how much money would you have left to buy some Air Jordans and a cellphone?
4/12/2008 11:32:19 AM
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Comity_Guy wrote:
It's about time. Admitting students who are wholly unprepared and doomed to failure does them no favor -- they are saddled with more debt, and does TSU no good -- it just contributes to TSU's abysmal graduation rate.
4/12/2008 11:56:10 AM
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crimefighter1 wrote:
the regents certainly has its work cutout to improve the image of tsu.tsu has really become no more than a "diploma mill" with a number of students lacking discipline in the classroom bringing about confrontations with many professors,inadequate classroom performance.once the new admission guidelines are in place one will see a significant decrease in enrollment.tsu has always attracted the wrong kind of students-low sat/act scores,students awarded grants that withdrew once their money was received,students that lacked self-discipline to achieve academically .the students were a reflection of it's administration.
4/12/2008 7:26:09 AM