(Monica Rhor/Houston Chronicle)
Open admissions at Texas universities may soon be history. The University of Houston-Downtown, the last university in the state with an open-door admissions policy, wants to start requiring incoming students to meet certain criteria before being accepted.
The standards, which the UH System Board of Regents will consider next week, are part of a push to boost the academic profile and completion rates at the school, which has a six-year graduation rate of 15 percent.
“It’s time and it’s the right thing to do,” said President William Flores, who began advocating for admissions standards shortly after taking over as president in 2009. “We’re building the quality of our academic programs and the reputation of the university and student success is part of that.”
UH-Downtown became the only Texas university with open admissions this past fall, when the University of Texas at Brownsville introduced admissions standards. Texas Southern University ended its open admissions policy in 2008.
(Read more at Houston Chronicle)
OTHER HEADLINES:
- Local Mortgage Lender Says National Settlement Won’t Go Far Or Fast Enough (KUHF Public Radio)
- Report Evaluates Federal Green Energy Loans (AP/NPR)
- Houston Woman’s Firing Over Breastfeeding Inspires Online Backlash (Houston Chronicle)
- Medical Board Gives Early OK to Adult Stem Cell Rules (Texas Tribune)
- Study Finds Premature Birth Risk for Latinos Increases with Time in U.S. (Houston Chronicle)
OPINIONS OF NOTE:
- Editorial: UH-Downtown Admissions Standards Make Good Sense (Houston Chronicle)
- Patrick Michaels: We’re Not Gonna Take It: Texas’ Starving School Districts Lawyer Up for (Another) Epic Battle for Survival (Texas Observer)