• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

HIGHER EDUCATION: UND Beams at Higher ACT Requirements: Official: Stiffer Standards Attract More Prepared Students

Posted on: Sunday, 19 February 2006, 12:00 CST

By David Dodds, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.

Feb. 19--UND's enrollment may be slipping a bit of late, but an enrollment manager at the school is happy to see that the students who are coming are better prepared than ever.

And that will pay dividends in the future, school officials say.

UND raised its admission standards for the fall of 2005, bumping its ACT requirement for automatic admission from 17 to 21, and its high school grade point average minimum from 2.25 to 2.50.

Officials expected a slight drop in enrollment because of it, but they've been pleased with how effective it's been in raising the quality of students enrolling at UND.

Alice Hoffert, associate vice president of enrollment management, said that after several years of having stagnant average ACT scores for its incoming freshmen (about 22.8), UND's newest crop of freshmen stormed in with an average 23.4 ACT.

"And this, after it hadn't moved for years," Hoffert said.

UND has a goal of getting its average incoming freshman ACT score to 24.

The average ACT score in North Dakota for the Class of 2005 was 21.3, and nationally it was 20.9, meaning that UND attracted students who scored significantly higher than both.

That's good for the school, because it means the students will be more likely to succeed in college and are more likely to stay at UND through graduation, Hoffert said.

Also, in 2004, about 49 percent of UND's freshmen ranked in the top of their high school classes. In 2005, that percentage moved up three points.

With the higher admission standards, UND instituted a program that would allows students who didn't meet the requirements to be admitted provisionally.

Last fall, the school allowed 140 provisional students. They are restricted to a lighter course load and required to take a study-skills course and must take part in periodic academic counseling.

Hoffert said the school will have a better idea next month how many of the provisionally admitted students have been retained for the spring semester.

"A great majority did what we asked them to do," Hoffert said. "It was very successful and we're very pleased with the way it's turned out."

More public support

State Sen. LeRoy Stumpf, DFL-Plummer, says Minnesota colleges have long produced great minds in science, economy and medicine.

But today, he says, the schools are churning out another kind of people at ever-increasing rate: debtors.

"Huge tuition bills and massive debt loads once belonged exclusively to students at private colleges and those who spent a decade in school getting a doctoral degree," he said.

Stumpf blames repeated funding reductions for Minnesota schools over the past four years.

Stumpf cited a recent study published in the Herald's sister paper, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, which said that tuition and fees for students at the U of M's Twin Cities campus jumped a whopping 77 percent in the past five years, and more than 110 percent in the past decade.

"What we need is an honest commitment to providing our public colleges with the resources they need to hold down tuition hikes and keep college affordable," he said.

UND seeks stories

UND's Alumni Association is seeking personal accounts of one of the school's most beloved leaders.

UND will celebrate Alumni Days 2006 on May 24 to 26 with the theme: "The Clifford Years," in honor of Tom Clifford, the school's eighth president, from 1971 to 1992.

Personal stories about Clifford can be sent to Stacey Majkrzak, media relation coordinator for the alumni association, by e-mail at staceym@undalumni.net, or fax them to her attention at (701) 777-4859.

"Long or short, funny or inspirational, we want them all," Majkrzak said.

Some stories may be read during various Alumni Days events and some may be printed in a booklet for alumni and friends to enjoy, she said. You can include your name when you submit a story, or remain anonymous.

Concordia cited for international strides

Concordia College in Moorhead is one of only five schools to be honored with the Sen. Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization by the Association of International Educators.

Concordia joins Purdue University, Michigan State, Arcadia University of Nova Scotia and Earlham College of Richmond, Ind.

"This recognition affirms Concordia's role as a national leader in global education," said Pamela Jolicoer, president of Concordia.

Jolicoer was one of the select few university leaders who were invited to a special international education summit in Washington, D.C., in January. The forum was hosted by Secretary of State Condileezza Rice and Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings.

The five award recipients will be recognized at a ceremony in May during the association's conference in Montreal. They also will be featured on the association's profiles of success report.

Benoit honored by alma mater

Joey Benoit, dean of UND Graduate School, has been recognized by his alma mater as a distinguished alumnus.

Benoit holds degrees from the University of Southern Alabama in 1982 and 1986. He was one of the early graduates from the school's doctoral program in basic medical science. He is the first USA doctoral graduate to reach the academic rank of dean at an academic institution. An expert in physiology, he has published over 63 papers, 15 book chapters and 105 abstracts.

USA held a special ceremony for all of its distinguished alumni on Feb. 3.

Supervolcanoes erupt at UND

University of North Dakota's Space Studies Chair Dr. Shan de Silva will talk about "supervolcanoes" at the next segment of UND's Faculty Lecture Series at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in the North Dakota Museum of Art, with a 4 p.m. reception beforehand. The talk is free and open to the public.

Dodds reports on higher education. Reach him at (701) 780-1110; (800) 477-6572, ext. 110; or ddodds@gfherald.com.

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks, N.D.)

More News in this Category