From Community College to Southern University

Due to new admission standards set by the university, the number of incoming freshmen has decreased, but continual efforts are in place to raise student enrollment, said Southern University officials.
Initially, officials expected to lose 500 or more students in the fall semester because of the new standards, but as of Wednesday, Sept. 6, 1,117 incoming freshman have registered and exceeded the University’s preset goal of 1,000.
During the fall of 2001, the Louisiana Board of Regents proposed the first of a two-stage phase of more stringent admission requirements. The first stage required incoming freshman to score a 17 or better on the American College Test and complete their core curriculum courses with a 2.5 grade point average or above.
That semester, there were 1,220 incoming freshman enrolled, compared to the 1,788 students during the previous year.
The second phase of the new admission standards went into effect in January of 2006, but it had no effect on spring registration.
The new standards requires incoming freshmen to have completed the Board of Regents Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS), and to have a high school core curriculum grade point average of a 2.0 or above.
Incoming freshman must also score at least a 20,or better on their ACT, and a 940 or better on the SAT.
The new requirements also states students need no more than one developmental course by having an ACT English and math score of 18.
“I think that it is good that the Board of Regents authorized a higher admission standard because it will allow for students of high caliber to enter Southern,” said Phillip Michaels, a senior mass communication major from Detroit.
According to Tracie Abraham, executive director of admissions and recruitment, to boost enrollment numbers, the new standards were not as drastic as expected because Southern had prepared preventive programs.
As a means to accommodate students needing more than one remedial course, Southern administered a compass test. The compass test allowed students that did not pass the English and math sections of the ACT to retake those sections in order to fulfill the requirements for admission.
“I didn’t realize that Southern raised its standards, so the compass test really helped me get in,” said Alisha Franklin, a freshman chemistry major from New Orleans.
According to C. Norman St. Amant, Jr., vice chancellor of SU’s division of enrollment management, a sizable amount of students passed the compass test that didn’t score the required 20 on the ACT.
“If someone explained the importance of the ACT test, more would pass,” St. Amant said.
As another means of aiding students, the University College offered the Summer Bridge Program to those wishing to apply to the university but didn’t fulfill the requirements.
During the program, students registered in both the developmental English and developmental math courses with the understanding that they had to pass at least one course.
Upon successful completion of those courses, students were granted regular enrollment to the university.
Rita Hill, assistant professor in the University College, said 100 percent of the students met the requirements needed for regular admission and over 98 percent of the students passed both of the courses.
As other means of increasing enrollment, Southern began “LA Recruit”, where representatives from the university talk to high school seniors about the benefits of attending a four-year institution, preferably Southern.
The university has also turned to recruiting in non-traditional areas, like non-denominational churches and offering city tours and receptions to potential students.
“It is a large task to get our numbers where they were, but we (the university) are prepared,” Abraham said. “We will be successful just like in the past semesters.”