UC continues to toughen standards
9:22 PM, May. 20, 2011

Written by
Cliff Peale

Admission to main campus at the University of Cincinnati, viewed by generations of Greater Cincinnatians as an option for nearly any high-school graduate, no longer is a sure thing.

"The word is sort of out now that not everybody gets into UC like they once did," said Mark Lampe, a guidance counselor at Wyoming High School.

While UC does make exceptions, the affected group generally has a high school GPA between 3.0 and 3.3 and ACT scores below 24.

Five years ago, those students usually were admitted to UC's main campus. Today they might not be, and the standards continue to increase.

"It will become more selective," said UC Provost Santa Ono, the top academic officer at the region's largest university.

This year, UC denied admission to 1,680 Ohio applicants for fall 2011 and asked them to consider starting at regional campuses in Blue Ash or Batavia, or at Cincinnati State Technical & Community College.

That number actually has been higher in recent years but more students are applying directly to the regional campuses.

Of those, 350 students have asked to start at one of the regional campuses, an opportunity that will last most of the summer.

Some programs, including engineering, design and music, impose more stringent admission standards. UC also weighs GPA more heavily than standardized test scores.

The admission standards UC instituted in 2006 clearly are transforming the academic profile of the main campus even as total enrollment ballooned to a record 41,200 this year.

UC is not alone. The same trend has taken hold nationally, with schools routing more students to two-year campuses as portals into college.

Across the Ohio River, Northern Kentucky University this fall is limiting the students accepted who don't meet its standards in two or more areas, a change that could cut as many as 200 students a year.

It's asking those students to start at Gateway Community & Technical College.

For UC and NKU, the upgrading of the academic profile on their campuses increases academic prestige by luring more talented students and professors, and decreases costs of providing remedial classes to hundreds of students.

But for students who fall in the gap, it means starting at a two-year campus, often an adjustment to their expectations.

UC officials insist that the degree is the same, but that mindset hasn't fully taken hold with families, said Lea Browne, a guidance counselor at Finneytown High School.

"I always encourage my students that if UC is their dream school, don't be deterred by that," Browne said. "Start at Raymond Walters. A lot of students are disappointed with that. They want to go onto main campus, but sometimes you have to take an alternate path."

That path can save thousands of dollars.

At UC, in-state tuition at Raymond Walters College is $5,499 and Clermont College is $4,863 this year, compared with $10,065 on main campus.

NKU's in-state tuition of $7,128 this year is nearly five times Gateway's cost of about $1,560 for the average full-time student.

NKU Provost Gail Wells said that benefits both the college and the student.

"There are some student students who we think would be best served going to Gateway," she said.

Browne agreed.

"It's good for UC, but more importantly it's good for our students," she said. "It allows them to build up some skills they may be lacking. They save a ton of money and it also allows them to start out in a smaller setting."

This year, most of the deferred students at UC have chosen Raymond Walters College.

The average student is getting younger and more traditional, and both regional campuses are combining to offer bachelor's degrees in Technical and Applied Studies starting this fall.

Clermont College Dean Greg Sojka said about 300 students transferred to main campus as juniors last spring, and those students generally are more successful at graduating than others who might have started on main campus.

Raymond Walters Dean Cady Short-Thompson said her goal is to make her school a destination on its own.

"The choices of going uptown (main campus) for some have gotten slimmer," she said. "Yes, we are portals into the system, but we're also a great place to learn and to finish."

Quote:UC's changing profile

Fall 2006

Class rank: Top 75 percent

GPA: 2.5

ACT score: 20

Fall 2007

Class rank: Top 70 percent

GPA: 2.6

ACT score: 20

Fall 2008

Class rank: Top 65 percent

GPA: 2.6

ACT score: 21

Fall 2009

Class rank: Top 60 percent

GPA: 2.7

ACT score: 21

Planned next step (delayed):

Class rank: Top 50 percent

GPA: 2.7

ACT score: 22


UC's minimum admission standards

Fall 2005 admission on main campus for baccalaureate seeking students

Average ACT score: 23.8

Average high-school GPA: 3.34

Fall 2011 admission on main campus for baccalaureate seeking students

Average ACT score: 25

Average high-school GPA: 3.44

Fall 2005 admission at Raymond Walters and Clermont regional campuses (combined)

Average ACT score: 17.9

Average high-school GPA: 2.56

Fall 2011 admission at Raymond Walters College

Average ACT score: 19.5

Average high-school GPA: 2.68

Fall 2011 admission at Clermont College

Average ACT score: 20.4

Average high-school GPA: 2.95

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110...|FRONTPAGE