Campus

UH-Downtown ends open admissions

 |  Daniel Renfrow/The Daily Cougar

| Daniel Renfrow/The Daily Cougar

UH–Downtown will no longer be an option for high school seniors applying to schools with open-admissions.

On Feb. 13, the UH System Board of Regents voted unanimously on setting automatic admission standards that will take effect starting Fall of 2013.

Setting admissions standards has been under discussion for several years. UH-D leadership developed the proposed standards in consultation with the UH System Board of Regents and administrators. The standards were discussed with legislators and with UH-D faculty, staff, alumni and students before the proposal was submitted to the UH System Board of Regents for approval, according to the Board.

“Our focus is on student success and access. Admission standards are in the best interest of our students, since it will provide a pathway for education at a university or a community college, depending on a student’s interest, ability and preparation,” said vice president of Enhancement and External Relations Johanna Wolfe.

According to the Board of Regents, students graduating in the top 25 percent of their class would automatically be admitted; those in the 26 to 50 percent group must have a combined SAT score of 850, a 2.5 GPA or an ACT admissions test score of 18.

Although the University is changing its admissions policy, there is a plan for students who do not meet the criteria for automatic admissions.

UH-D will offer a joint admissions program with several local community colleges for freshman students who were not admitted. Students participating in the program will enroll in developmental and core courses that will transfer over to UH-D once they have been successfully completed. While these students are enrolled in classes at community college, they will have full access to UH-D facilities and services.

With the new automatic admission standards and other improvements, Wolfe hopes for UH-D to become one of the top choices for graduating high school seniors.

“There is a role for every university in the UH System and UH-D plays its part in providing higher education opportunities in the Houston and Gulf Coast region. It’s not about competition, but about access to education for a broad population of adults and providing work-force ready graduates for the fourth largest city in the nation,” Wolfe said. “By admitting students who are prepared to do college-level work, UH-D will increase the number of students graduating annually. We are also strengthening advising and mentoring for our students, to support their ability to complete their degrees in fewer years.”

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8 Comments

  • That is great! I have a friend that earned his Master Degree at Clearlake UH. He keeps hiding his UHD diploma. Maybe now I could tell him it OK to hang it on the wall with pride! sniff sniff.

  • Elitist and incompetent administrators use admissions standards as a stand-in for a quality program that encourages student success.

    The quality institution takes students and turns them into scholars. The ignorant and lazy institution throws applicants away by the fistful for want of acceptance by the standing elite.

    Maybe if the UH System spent a little more time serving students and a little less time trying to "me too" Austin and College Station, the system wouldn't be so wrought with problems.

    It's time to abandon our antiquated justifications for teacher incompetence. We need to speak honestly and frankly about teaching students, not simply eliminate those we can't effectively teach. I think you'll find that instead of separating the wheat from the chaff, you're mostly throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

    UH's Hatred of Students continues.

    • Babied and lazy would be students cry about admission standards that mean they have to work to get something of quality versus having it handed to them.

      The lazy and self righteous would be students take quality institutions for granted and complain when asked to work.

      Maybe if the would be student spent a little more time working hard and a little less time railing about the inequities of a perceived elitist systems, the student would have nothing to complain about.

      It's time to abandon the acceptance for these lazy would be students. We need to be honest with ourselves and realize that we have to work for what we want instead of expecting things to be easy and free. I think you'll find that instead of begging for something for free, working and succeeding is its own reward.

      Lazy would be students griping continues

  • This is great and a step in the right direction for my university.

    Since UH-Downtown is now the higher education choice for working adults in Houston (UH is moving up from that role), there is a need for tighter standards to ensure that we get the best of the rest. However, I still don't agree with the open-door transfer policy though (which wasn't mentioned in this article) and feel that there needs to be admissions standards for transfer students as well.

  • I am dismayed and disappointed that UHD is abandoning its primary mission, to allow anyone who has an interest in higher education, get a chance to at least try , and not just close the door to opportunity for a brighter future.  If the academic admission standards being implemented in the near future, were in place in place, when I started UHD, most likely I would not be where I am now. Thanks to the admission standards in place back in 1982, I was able to start at UHD, and with lots of hard work and dedication I was able to graduate with a bachelor. Eventually, I earned a Masters from a different institution. I so thankful that UHD gave me the opportunity to gain the skills necessary to be successful in life, when I did not had the skills, maturity and the understanding of what it took to meet the class requirements at UHD. Thanks to UHD that allow me to flourish and become a better person. UHD was providing a great service to a specific community niche that for some reason was not college ready. UHD you disappoint me for your lack of vision!

    • When commenting on the quality of the education you received, it is generally advised that you proofread your post before hitting 'submit'. When you don't, you feed the stereotypes of why admission standards are needed.

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