 |
Thursday,
February 19, 2004 |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
College
selectivity difficult to verify
College
admissions offices can manipulate applicant numbers to
appear selective in college ranking surveys. TCU will
use an auditor to ensure accuracy.
By
Angelica
Rosas
Staff Reporter
College admission officers say there is a need to define
exactly what constitutes an application to prevent misuse
of the number of applications reported by schools seeking
a higher standing in student user guides.
Ray Brown, dean of admissions, said guide book rankings
are important because high school students use them to
filter out or choose a selective university with favorable
academic rankings.
The total number of applications received, among other
data, is what guide books use to rank schools. Accuracy
is important because the numbers colleges report goes
directly into print, Brown said.
Universities self-report application numbers to the Common
Data Set, a national survey used by several college guides.
There are no specifics for what colleges can count as
applications, so this can sometimes leads to an application
counting free-for-all.
Wes Waggoner, admission practices chair for the Texas
Association for College Administration Counseling, said
a murky definition of what applications are is a concern
among education professionals.
“When the admissions office pads application numbers,
the image of exclusivity arises,” Waggoner said.
“Students figure it’s next to impossible to
get accepted into such an ‘exclusive’ school.”
High rejection rates means the school is more exclusive,
and therefore pushes the institution closer to the top
in rankings, Waggoner said.
“Schools sent in numbers that go directly into print,”
Brown said. “There are no governing rules, only ethics.”
The numbers are in question because universities are finding
new ways to define and count “applicants,” Brown
said.
Colleges at other schools have told Brown they report
admission numbers including withdrawn applications, teacher
recommendations and SAT scores in application totals.
“Without a clear-cut definition, this happens every
year,” Brown said. “Pumped up application numbers
and low acceptance from those numbers give the impression
that the school is hard to get into.”
Chancellor Victor Boschini said rankings should not be
the only reason a student decides to apply.
“We want high academic standards for the total student
benefit,” Boschini said. “We don’t put
pressure on admissions about rankings.”
Brown said he wants to take the high road. The TCU Admissions
Office plans to hire an auditor to verify application
numbers, SAT scores and student profiles. The auditor
will come in this summer to audit applications for fall
2004 and fall 2003 before TCU sends its application report
in November.
“Keeping honest with numbers is about the students,”
Brown said. “Take pride in knowing TCU does not count
any application that is not student initiated.”
Likewise, admission officials at Baylor University and
Southern Methodist University report counting only applications
filed electronically or by mail.
“Our numbers are verifiable,” said James Steen,
the director of admission services at Baylor. “But
auditing would be a useful tool for consistency.”
Rice University, considered by many to be the most selective
private school in Texas, counts applications differently.
“We report the first part of our application process
which includes a student-initiated application plus an
application fee or fee waiver,” saidJulie Browning,
the dean of undergraduate admissions at Rice. “Otherwise
we don’t count it in our reports.”
Waggoner said having an outside objective voice would
give validity to reports. He pointed out that although
audits would ensure accuracy, the auditing agencies would
need a standard definition for what an application is.
And that brings back the question of what counts as an
application, he said.
“If this was done, even the auditing agency would
demand a standard methodology,” Waggoner said. “And
if it was defined, schools could only be pressured to
follow.” |
|
|
|
|
|
|
