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UC Admissions Changes Align with State Strategic Higher Education Plan

   Growing enrollment, better retention, a diverse student population and higher graduation rates are the result of minimum admission standards introduced at the University of Cincinnati in 2006. The next step toward implementing these standards – known as “academic success criteria” – will take place next year.

Effective Fall 2010, freshmen admissions to the University of Cincinnati Uptown Campus will be limited to those students who meet the university’s academic success criteria. Applicants who do not meet the criteria will be referred to UC’s regional campuses in Blue Ash and Batavia, or to affiliated programs at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College.

The move coincides with the directives of the University System of Ohio “Strategic Plan for Higher Education 2008-2017,” which assigns developmental education responsibilities to community colleges and regional campuses.

“UC has long held values regarding its role in providing access to higher education,” said Senior Vice President and Provost Anthony J. Perzigian.  “Our two regional campuses, Raymond Walters College and Clermont College, remain focused on access in their admissions policies and curricula. We are proud of our expanding and thriving partnership with Cincinnati State that has resulted in more students who start there and successfully transition to UC.”

With the change in admissions the university will reorganize its Uptown campus developmental program, known as the Center for Access and Transition. The Center was created in 2004 to provide concentrated developmental assistance to students who did not meet the academic success criteria. The Center will be eliminated as an administrative unit, and its developmental programs will be restructured throughout the university. Simultaneously, all remaining associate-degree programs will be moved from the Uptown campus to the regional campuses or to Cincinnati State.

“Mission differentiation and statewide coordination are hallmarks of the University System of Ohio plan,” Perzigian said. “The plan outlines an effective access system for Ohio that places student needs first and effectively distributes limited state funding.”

UC’s access partnerships create greater affordability for students and their families, said Caroline Miller, senior associate vice president for enrollment management. 

“Students with developmental needs generally take longer to complete their course of study,” Miller said. “By attending classes at one of our regional campuses or at Cincinnati State, students will get academics tailored to their needs and save money while they prepare for baccalaureate study.”

Some regularly admitted baccalaureate students will still need developmental courses, and the university continues to study the best means of delivering that instruction. In addition, the university will continue to admit a limited number of students at the Uptown campus who do not meet the academic success criteria established by the faculty but who demonstrate preparation in other ways.

Over the five-year history of the Center for Access and Transition, Miller said, UC has discovered some factors that contribute to student success. 

“It appears strength of high school, living on campus, motivation/enthusiasm for college and UC and support from athletics are positive contributing factors,” she said. 

UC first put minimum admissions standards into place with the incoming 2006 freshman class as well as the requirement of a short essay on the students’ college application.

“UC remains committed to excellence and diversity and these additional requirements allow admissions officers to see a more complete picture of student readiness,” Miller said.

The success criteria, developed from an analysis of student performance and retention, reflect a nationwide trend of raising admissions standards to build on success toward retention and graduation. Many of UC’s selective academic programs have higher admissions criteria.