holistic admissions
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Developing a Holistic Admissions Developing a Holistic Admissions StrategyStrategy
First We Need to Define!
• Holistic – Emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts; Concerned with wholes rather than analysis or separation into parts.
The American Heritage Dictionary - 2000
Defining Holistic AdmissionsDefining Holistic Admissions
Holistic Admissions:1) The use of all available information for the
purposes of making informed and responsible admissions, advising and placement decisions;
2) Recognition of the importance and value of all information and data available to admissions professionals, and their interdependence on each
other, in informing recruitment, admissions, advising, placement and retention strategies
Holistic AdmissionsHolistic Admissions
• Holistic Admissions requires:• The use of all available data and information• A more responsible application review process• Admissions Officers have the final decision
making power for student admissions• More than just admissions (advising, placement,
retention, student support services – i.e. Enrollment Management)
What is Holistic Admissions
Holistic Admissions• High School GPA• High School Coursework (Core, AP/IB, etc.)• ACT/SAT Scores• Essay• Family income • Identifying first generation students• 89.4% of colleges consider standardized tests as moderate
to considerate of importance in the admissions decision*• Overall goal: Use all information possible to help make Overall goal: Use all information possible to help make
an informed admission decisionan informed admission decision*NACAC State of College
Admissions Report 2008
Why Holistic Admissions?
• Use of all information gives admissions professionals the ‘whole picture’ of student’s:– abilities– readiness – interests – needs
…and whether the college/university has the services/opportunities available to ensure greater likelihood of success for each and every student
ACT is Part of Holistic AdmissionsACT is Part of Holistic Admissions
• ACT compliments a Holistic Admissions Strategy• Cognitive and non-cognitive data gives
admissions/enrollment professionals a more robust understanding of a student’s abilities, needs, college readiness
• Research-based data adds further credibility to the admissions process
• ACT supports and informs every aspect of the enrollment management strategic process
• ACT is a piece of the puzzle, and not the puzzle itself
Skills vs. ScoresSkills vs. Scores
• Skills vs. Scores– Scores are not the ‘end game’
• College Readiness Standards
• College Readiness Benchmarks
• College Readiness Standards– Empirically derived– Narrative Description of what students need to
know and be able to do– Reflect a Common Continuum of Achievement– Progressive Model of Student Progress from
Middle to High School– Reflect Student Strengths/Weaknesses– Evaluate Student Readiness for Next Levels of
Learning
Skills vs. ScoresSkills vs. Scores
• College Readiness Benchmarks Subject Benchmark Score
English 18
Mathematics 22
Reading 21
Science 24
Students meeting or exceeding College Readiness Benchmark Scores have a 75% chance of receiving a ‘C’ or better in the corresponding first year credit-bearing postsecondary course, or a 50% chance of receiving a ‘B’ or better.
Skills vs. ScoresSkills vs. Scores
• Cognitive Data– Provides a strong compliment to a holistic
admissions process– Informs administrators and educators as to
student proficiency in core subject areas– Impacts a data-driven admissions strategy
Skills vs. ScoresSkills vs. Scores
• Cognitive Data– Informs more effective and data-driven
advising, placement and retention strategies– Provides greater insight as to student
academic strengths and weaknesses, and informs student support services in being more effective in student interventions
Skills vs. ScoresSkills vs. Scores
Non-Cognitive Data
• ACT collects over 200 points of data related to non-cognitive information provided by the student themselves:– School Type/Size– School Choice– Academic and Non-Academic Needs– Extracurricular Interests– Degree/Program Interest– Career Interests
ACT and Holistic Admissions
• Cognitive and Non-Cognitive data from ACT provide a more in-depth view of student proficiency and needs
• Perfectly compliments and adds to an effective holistic admissions strategy
• Provides supporting information for a true Enrollment Management System (Admissions, Advising and Placement, Retention)
Holistic Admissions and Test UseHolistic Admissions and Test Use
Holistic Admissions and Test UseHolistic Admissions and Test Use
Review:
Holistic Admissions provides institutions with:• Full compliment of data to make an informed and
responsible decision in several areas:– Admissions– Advising– Placement– Student Support Services– Retention
Holistic Admissions:• Informs institutions on how to effectively:
– Admit students– Provide meaningful academic and non-academic support to
students– Place students and their best interests at the center of the
process• Strengthens student support services and therefore student
access and success initiatives
Holistic Admissions and Test UseHolistic Admissions and Test Use
Test Optional initiatives – while promoting a more holistic approach – may limit holistic practices by:
• Decreasing access to all data for informed enrollment management decisions
• Removing the ‘true’ definition of ‘holistic admissions’• Requiring institutions to make decisions based on fewer facts• Suppressing data that can assist in effective and informed
intervention and student support services activities/initiatives that:– Increase student access to higher education– Promote retention, persistence to degree and success in
postsecondary education
Holistic Admissions and Test UseHolistic Admissions and Test Use
A Recent article suggests that test optional decision policies maybe made due to several factors :
• “Evidence suggests there are also marketing and competitive issues at play”
• “Schools are saying we want to count your test scores when we like your test scores”
• “Colleges making the switch usually see an immediate 10% to 20% application bump; the bigger pile of rejection letters could give the illusion that the college is more selective”
• “reported average test scores…increased in recent years…because colleges are not plugging in the results of freshmen who do not submit scores”
Holistic Admissions and Test UseHolistic Admissions and Test Use
New York Times“The Other Side of ‘Test Optional’”July 26, 2009
NACAC Journal of College Admission
Summer 2009
“How can an ethical institution that distrusts the (test) validity or perceives it to be biased continue to evaluate any applicants using the test?”
“How can scores be meaningful in evaluating a student’s abilities when they are submitted, but irrelevant when they are withheld?”
“..results suggest that despite the proud statements of some adopters, (test) optional admission policies are more than purely a philosophical stance.”
“results imply that 31 of the 32 institutions (top 100 Liberal Arts Colleges in US News that are Test Optional) in question are the beneficiaries of (test score) average boosts.”
Holistic Admissions and Test UseHolistic Admissions and Test Use
• Problems– “Game the system”– Lack of information to provide students with proper
services and support– Hinge on incomplete information to make important
admissions, advising, placement and retention/persistence decisions
Holistic Admissions and Test UseHolistic Admissions and Test Use
• Issues: #1
– HS GPA alone in informing effective admissions, placement and advising practices• In last ten years:
– 400% increase in students reporting a 4.0 GPA*– Only a 24% increase in student population over same
period
– Grade Inflation and Informed and Responsible Admissions• From 1991 – 2003:
– grade inflation rose 6.5%**– ACT scores rose by less than 1% (20.6 to 20.8)
* ACT Research, 2008**High School Grade Inflation from 1991 to
2003Ziomek and Woodruff2004
Holistic Admissions and Test UseHolistic Admissions and Test Use
• Issues: #2– High School GPA as best predictor of Postsecondary
Success in Year 1• GPA vs. ACT and HS GPA combined
– For students with 2.0 GPA or higher: » Accuracy rate for HS GPA on college success is: 76%» Accuracy rate for ACT on college success is: 76%» Accuracy rate for HS GPA and ACT combined on
college success is: 79%» Example: School of 1,000 students would increase their ability
to predict postsecondary success by an additional 3 out of every 100 students (total of 30 students)
Holistic Admissions and Test UseHolistic Admissions and Test Use
Predicting Different Levels of Academic Successin College Using High School GPA andACT Composite ScoreNoble and Sawyer2002
• Issues: #2 (continued)– The further GPA’s increase, the less predictive HS
GPA becomes compared to the ACT (and ACT + HS GPA) :
• High School GPA as best predictor of Postsecondary Success in Year 1
– GPA vs. ACT and HS GPA combined– For students with 3.50 GPA or higher:
» Accuracy rate for HS GPA on college success is: 83%» Accuracy rate for ACT on college success is: 84%» Accuracy rate for HS GPA and ACT combined on
college success is: 86%
Holistic Admissions and Test UseHolistic Admissions and Test Use
Predicting Different Levels of Academic Successin College Using High School GPA andACT Composite ScoreNoble and Sawyer2002
• Issues: #3– Importance in Promoting Retention and
Persistence• Via ACT’s IDQ – schools self identifying as test
optional on average have a 4% lower retention rate than those institutions who are not
• The two most important strategies in retention, as identified by postsecondary institutions via preliminary results from the 2009 ACT Retention Study, are mandated assessments and course placement.
Holistic Admissions and Test UseHolistic Admissions and Test Use
• Issues: #4– Access and Success for All Students
• Perception is that testing limits student access• Reality is it:
» Opens discussion and understanding of student proficiencies and aspirations
» Also provides valuable information for guidance and college counseling purposes
» Provides valuable information as part of a holistic admissions process
Holistic Admissions and Test UseHolistic Admissions and Test Use
• What works:– Use of all available data– Data informs effective and student centered
strategies in:• Admissions• Advising and Placement• Retention and Persistence• Predictive Modeling
Holistic Admissions and Test UseHolistic Admissions and Test Use
• Avoid:– Limited or Purposeful lack of data – Not fully informed student support services
process and or strategies– Misinformed marketing practices to
students and families based on selected data rather than all data
Holistic Admissions and Test UseHolistic Admissions and Test Use
• Holistic admissions and Test Optional policy may be exclusive
• Both practices are not one in the same
Holistic Admissions and Test UseHolistic Admissions and Test Use