Making a first move on plans to raise Florida Atlantic University’s admissions standards, a trustee group today will consider turning away applicants whose low SAT scores would require them to take three remedial courses.
If approved today and later by the full board of trustees, the change would affect students applying for next fall’s class.
Officials acknowledge they’re trying to make the university more selective. But they also say some of the students now accepted might be better off starting at a community college than struggling at FAU.
Now, FAU generally calls for a 3.0 grade-point average in required high school courses and a 440 or higher score on the verbal and math sections of the SAT. A perfect score is 800 on each section. There may be exceptions for students with special talents, disabilities or a history of hardships.
Admitted students who don’t meet the SAT benchmarks generally are required to take up to three remedial courses at community colleges, according to FAU academic chief Kenneth Jessell. The change under discussion today would affect only those required to take all three.
Only 76 such students were admitted last year out of more than 5,000 acceptances, Jessell said. Those 76 finished their first year in college with an average GPA of 1.9, he said.
Community colleges sometimes are seen as a more encouraging environment than universities for students who need academic help.
“We’re just trying to put them in the right environment that will encourage them to perform at their absolute best and end up with a baccalaureate degree … rather than seeing a situation where someone gets discouraged and drops out after one or two semesters,” Jessell said.
However, community colleges are straining to accommodate the students they already have. Broward Community College estimates that as many as 1,000 students couldn’t get into at least some of the classes they wanted this fall because enrollment has grown without corresponding state support, BCC President Willis Holcombe said.
FAU also has tentative plans to call for a 3.2 GPA and at least a 500 score on both SAT sections as soon as 2007.
That’s not especially ambitious by state university standards. The average Florida public-university freshman arrived with a 3.5 GPA and a combined SAT score over 1,100 in 2001-2002, state Education Department figures show.
But proposals to raise admissions requirements often raise questions about fairness. Students from some minority groups lag their white counterparts in SAT scores and grade averages, according to the College Board, the organization that administers the SAT.
FAU administrators say they’ll offer more scholarships, make more personal contacts and otherwise try harder to attract top-flight minority students. Given those promises, student government leader Ancell Pratt III supports raising admissions standards.
“If we want to make ourselves a premier institution of higher education, we have to start to take those steps,” he said.
Jennifer Peltz can be reached at or 561-243-6636.
