ADMISSION POLICIES PHASE-IN
ADMISSIONS PHASE-IN PLAN: (ACADEMIC AFFAIRS)
Planning Unit: Management Team
Responsible for Objectives: VP for Academic Affairs
Planning Objective: The admissions policy approved by the Board of Regents in June 1996 set higher standards for Georgia students seeking admission to an institution in the University System of Georgia. To help students achieve these standards and to assist institutions in implementing the new policy, a gradual phase-in of the new policy was recommended. The phase in sets the goals for FY 1998 and indicates the general directions to take to fully phase in the policy by 2001.
Major directions taken to allow for full phase-in of the policy, include the following:
Creating an applicant pool; tracking applicants;
Defining appropriate cohorts of traditional freshmen and transfer students for whom the policy is applicable;
Tracking the number of limited admissions over a year.
Action Plans
FY 1998:
Traditional Freshmen
Plan/goal for reducing traditional freshman admissions for students who would be placed in learning support courses below the System level by five percentage points a year.
Plan for raising SAT requirements for admission in order to meet the minimum freshman index by 2001;
Plan for limiting admission of students with college preparatory curriculum course deficiencies (differs by sector)
Other Student Groups: Non-Traditional, International, Career Associates
Transfer Students
All Students
Method for tracking limited admissions.
Method for providing assistance for students denied admission at your institution to seek admission at another System institution.
Major admissions issues or special concerns.
PHASE-IN PLANS: (DIVISION OF LEARNING SUPPORT)
Rather than adhere to the 10% quota on limited admitted students, the Division of Learning Support submitted a proposal to the Board of Regents for a new configuration to deliver Learning Support services. The Division has requested that Savannah State University be allowed to accept all students with a Freshman Index of 1790-1939 (pending portfolio screening) since there is no two-year institution in Savannah to serve those residents who would be excluded from the 10% quota.
Action Plans
1. Creating an Applicant Pool
Since a significant number of SSU students come from Savannah/Chatham County and adjacent areas, SSU in support of "raising the bar" for academic excellence, has included in the Learning Support proposal several initiatives to reduce the number of underprepared college students in the Savannah area.
A. Through the Director of University Testing, SSU will offer to public schools test-taking strategy workshops, mock testing (SAT, College Placement Examinations, Writing Samples) to the students for timely feedback.
B. The faculty in the Division of Learning Support and the Director of University Testing will serve as consultants on basic skills needed for college success. SSU will also expose middle and high school students (through a Middle School Day and High School Day) to college students in the various major departments on campus. Arrangements will also be made to see that middle and high school students attend a core or major class for a day.
C. The Division of Learning Support will develop partnerships with the community to sponsor basic skills camps (reading, writing, mathematics) for at-risk youths.
D. The University will develop a partnership with the Savannah/Chatham Public Schools to offer early college credit in core courses to high school seniors with honor status. This program will provide a mechanism to attract gifted students to the campus who might persist, provided adequate financial aid/scholarships are available.
E. The Office of Admissions has begun a campaign to attract students with SAT of 1000+ by hosting a reception for high school honor students. The first reception was held in the Winter quarter of 1997.
F. The Office of Admissions also held a reception to recruit minority students to diversify the pool of applicants for admission.
2. Tracking Limited Admission Students
SSU will initiate an Academic Tracking and Early Intervention Program (ATEI) by Fall 1998. ATEI will be a proactive program that works in collaboration with the Office of Admissions to identify at-risk students at placement, connect them to support courses (developmental studies courses and adjunct courses to core courses), monitor their academic progress, and intervene at signs of academic problems so that they can be connected to the appropriate academic support services. ATEI will identify the at-risk students early in a semester by consulting with their instructors and by examining mid-semester grades (regardless of their placement status). These students will be referred to the most appropriate support courses. In addition, students with final deficient grades will be referred to appropriate support courses during the succeeding semester.
3. Provisions for Traditional Students Denied Admission
The Division of Learning Support proposes to extend access to the System institutions to applicants with Freshman Indices of 1640-1739 (applicants who would have no alternative but to attend a two-year college). This objective could be realized through six weeks short seminars through Continuing Education on Test-taking strategies. Student would have the opportunity to prepare for the SAT to increase their Freshman Index (1790 or above) and the Collegiate Placement Examination to improve their placement status. Students Successful in increasing their FI to 1790 or above would be candidates for limited admissions, subject to placement by CPE scores. Students would pay a small fee of $100.00 per course (e.g. Verbal SAT, Math SAT, English CPE, Reading CPE, Math CPE), covering tuition and curriculum materials, instructors’ stipends, and a surcharge to Continuing Education. This collaboration with Continuing Education would fulfill a community need for local residents whose FI’s would place them at a two-year college, the closest in Brunswick, Georgia (Coastal Community College) which is over eighty miles from Savannah. This would ensure access to System institutions until the P-16 initiative reaches full implementation.