The University of Houston System Board of Regents approved new automatic freshman admission standards for first time in college students entering the University of Houston (UH). The unanimous action was taken at the regents' quarterly meeting on Tuesday.
Currently, only 50 percent of freshmen are admitted through automatic admission. The other 50 percent of new freshmen are admitted based on a holistic review of the students' academic records and personal backgrounds.
Starting fall 2012, UH will automatically admit college freshmen who graduate within the top 15 percent of their high school classes. No Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or American College Testing (ACT) scores will be required for these students. In fall 2014, UH will modify these standards to accept incoming freshmen within the top 10 percent of their classes without requiring SAT or ACT scores.
"Admissions standards are important for UH because we're interested in promoting student success," said John Antel, provost and senior vice president for UH and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs for the UH System. "We want students to be prepared as freshmen, so they can be successful. Success means graduating, going on to graduate school and launching a career. It's about being ready for the university experience."
UH currently grants automatic admission to freshmen who graduate high school within the top 20 percent of their high school classes without SAT or ACT requirements.
UH's new admissions standards also will raise the SAT and ACT requirements for students who don't graduate in either the top 15 percent or 20 percent of their high school classes. Below is a breakdown of the new admissions standards.
Fall 2012
Top 15 percent - No minimum SAT/ACT
16 - 25 percent - 1,000 (SAT)/21 (ACT)
26 - 50 percent - 1,100 (SAT)/24 (ACT)
51 percent or lower - Students will be reviewed individually by academic committees
Fall 2014
Top 10 percent - No minimum SAT/ACT
11 - 25 percent - 1,000 (SAT)/21 (ACT)
26 - 50 percent - 1,100 (SAT)/24 (ACT)
51 percent or lower - Students will be reviewed individually by academic committees
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ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON SYSTEM
The University of Houston System is the state's only metropolitan higher education system, encompassing four universities and two multi-institution teaching centers. The universities are the University of Houston, a nationally recognized doctoral degree-granting, comprehensive research university; the University of Houston-Downtown, a four-year undergraduate university beginning limited expansion into graduate programs; and the University of Houston-Clear Lake and the University of Houston-Victoria, both upper division and master's-level institutions. The centers are the UH System at Sugar Land in Fort Bend and the UH System at Cinco Ranch. In addition, the UH System includes KUHF-FM, Houston's National Public Radio and classical radio station, and KUHT-TV, the nation's first educational television station. To learn more about the UH System, visit http://www.uhsa.uh.edu/.