Direct Admissions An Initiative of the State of Idaho Board of Education

How did we get here?

Education Policy Structure “There are very few policy mechanisms for addressing the connection between secondary and postsecondary education, and many existing policies simply perpetuate the separation. Many K-12 policies in this arena come out of the belief that not every student is going to go to college. Now that over 70 percent continue on to some form of postsecondary education, this belief is misguided and obsolete, and hurts many students.” - Kirst and Bracco, 2004

Education Policy Structure Idaho State Board of Education K-12 AgencyBoard of Regents Education structure in most states

Idaho’s Current Go-On Rate National Go-On Rate: 62%

Idaho to Nation Comparison Educational Attainment Higher than national average of high school graduates. Lower than national average with bachelor’s degree or above.

Impacts on Lower Income Students “If there is no K-16 interaction and reinforcement of signals, we posit that the more advantaged students will receive ample signals and incentives to prepare for postsecondary education. But the more educationally disadvantaged high school graduates will enroll at lower rates, require remediation, and experience lower postsecondary completion rates.” - Kirst and Bracco, 2004 Persons Below Poverty Level

Where do we go from here?

Direct Admissions is designed to increase the number of students who choose to further their education in Idaho after high school. Direct Admissions

Initiative Goals To show students that they have access to a certificate, associate’s, or bachelor’s degree program if they choose to further their education in Idaho To ease the transition from high school to college To promote a college-going culture To connect students, families, and high schools with colleges and universities earlier, giving families time to consider their options and plan for their student’s future

Vision of Direct Admissions “Research shows that take-up rates of various programs, such as 401(k) retirement- savings plans and Medicare, rise when participants are automatically enrolled by their employer or through their participation in other social programs such as welfare.” - Long, Saenz, and Tienda, 2010

A Concerted Effort “Because members of the bottom-ability quartile are often excluded by admissions policies, costs and returns seemed to have only a small effect on them. The most important determinants of their attendance were admissions policy, neighborhood status, and draft pressure.” - Bishop, 1977

How does it work?

Group A Students with GPA equal to or greater than 3.0, or SAT math & reading multiplied by GPA equal to or greater than 2835 An equivalent ACT score can be used Students meeting this benchmark will be notified of admission to all eight of Idaho’s public colleges and universities: A plan to proactively admit high school seniors to Idaho institutions based on unweighted GPA and SAT/ACT score (at the end of their junior year) into two groups. Direct Admissions: An Overview Boise State University University of Idaho Idaho State University Lewis-Clark State College Eastern Idaho Technical College College of Western Idaho North Idaho College College of Southern Idaho

Direct Admissions: An Overview Group B Students below the benchmark will be notified of admission to six Idaho public higher education institutions: Idaho State University College of Technology Lewis-Clark State College Eastern Idaho Technical College Students will be encouraged to review individual admissions requirements of institutions, as they may be eligible for admission under the regular admission guidelines. Early estimates show approximately 50% in Group A and 50% in Group B for 2015 College of Western Idaho North Idaho College College of Southern Idaho

Direct Admissions: How it Works Student contact information is received through an agreement with SAT and ACT. OSBE will be contacting the high schools for mailing addresses of students we do not have in the SAT/ACT file. Students are sent a letter from OSBE in late October of their senior year. Admitted pending proof of high school graduation and submission of college application, application fee (where applicable), and official high school transcript Application fee waivers are available

Direct Admissions: How it Works Turnaround is short. College Application Week begins November 9 th. Students and families will need help from counselors to navigate this process. Letter directs students to NextSteps.Idaho.gov, where they can:NextSteps.Idaho.gov Research Idaho college and university options Follow links to fill out and submit college and university applications and pay application fees for the schools they choose to consider Application fee waivers are still available Follow a link to apply for the Idaho Opportunity Scholarship (opening Nov. 9 th ) Learn how to complete the FAFSA form online

Direct Admissions: How it Works There will be a deadline to accept the pre-admittance offer. Direct Admission has a deadline of February 15 th. This DOES NOT preclude students from following the normal admissions procedures if they miss the deadline. Parents will receive a very similar letter, informing them that their student has been pre-admitted and directing them to NextSteps.Idaho.gov for more information.NextSteps.Idaho.gov High schools will receive a list of students that indicates which students received letter A and which received letter B in order to help counselors and teachers best assist the students and families.

The Letter DRAFT

Student data collected and analyzed for Direct Admissions will be for one-time use. Student Data Privacy Data will be destroyed after admissions process each year (except for evaluation). GPA and SAT/ACT scores will not be disclosed to any party. High schools and colleges will securely receive the list of students who received each letter.

Will it make a difference?

Solving the Mystery “Students who are the first in their families to consider college face even more uncertainty when trying to estimate whether their investment in an application fee is likely to pay off.” - Law, Lloyd, Leicht, and Sullivan, 2008

Potential Immediate Impacts “If a state were to go from accepting half to accepting all of its high-school graduates, the proportion entering college would rise by As one might expect, the less able are quite sensitive to admissions policy; the proportion entering from the bottom- ability quartile would rise by ” - Bishop, 1977

Questions?