Utah State University announced a new admissions policy on Wednesday, aimed at increasing access for students who lack the grades or test scores to normally be considered. The Earned Admission program will guarantee first-year applicants a spot at the university if they pass three self-paced courses in English, math and study skills.
The goal is to give these students an alternate way to show their college readiness and to give them an academic boost ahead of enrollment.
“Utah State is a land-grant institution for the state of Utah, so one of our primary missions is access,” said Katie Jo North, Utah State University’s executive director of new student enrollment. “We’re able to say, ‘You know what? Why don’t you show us that you’re ready to come to school,’ and we made a really easy process for them to be able to have those opportunities.”
The university developed the three entrance classes in partnership with StraighterLine, an educational company that creates online higher education courses. To participate in the program, future students pay $125 a month, and they can finish their classes at any pace they choose, though on average, they complete them in about 40 days, said Burck Smith, CEO of StraighterLine. The classes include access to live tutoring, student advisors and a coaching service. Once students pass, they’re enrolled at Utah State University for the subsequent semester.
The idea of “risk reduction” is baked into the model, Smith added. If an underprepared student drops out of college, that’s a “black mark” on his or her transcript, but in their StraighterLine courses, they can “stop and start as they see fit” in a “highly supported” environment – and then they’re guaranteed college entrance at the end.
Utah State University faculty and administrators vetted each of the courses, so North is “really confident” that the new program won’t change the school’s admissions standards.
“It doesn’t lower our admissions parameters by any means,” she said, “because it is actually having [students] earn that admissions spot. That’s why we called it Earned Admission. It actually gives students the opportunity to show that they are prepared for Utah State rigor.”
