MONTANA BOARD OF REGENTS OF HIGHER EDUCATION
 Policy and Procedures Manual

 

SUBJECT:  ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Policy
301 - Admissions; General
Effective July 10, 2003 ; Issued July 14, 2004


Board policy:

1. This policy does not apply to Colleges of Technology and Community Colleges.

2. Campuses will adhere to the non-discrimination policy contained in Section 703 of the Policy and Procedures Manual.

3. Campuses may establish a cut-off date for the submission of complete credentials for admission, and any applicant who does not submit a complete application by that date may be required to delay entrance until a subsequent semester.

4. The requirement of high school graduation may also be satisfied by:

a. A High School Equivalency Diploma based on the G.E.D. (General Educational Development) examination; or

b. Satisfactory performance on either the ACT (American College Testing program) Asset or COMPASS examinations, for students who complete their secondary education through home schooling or at unaccredited secondary schools,

c. Standards for "satisfactory performance" on the ACT examinations shall be recommended by the admitting institution and approved by the Board of Regents. These scores shall not fall below scores which the U. S. Department of Education has published through the Federal Register as indicative of a student’s "ability-to-benefit" from post-secondary education.

5. Campuses may establish procedures for the admission and simultaneous attendance of students in high school and a campus of the Montana University System, and admission of non-high school graduates prior to the time their high school class has graduated. Such admission shall be highly selective and shall be confined to students who present evidence of high ability and achievement and maturity to do college work. Such admission shall be based on providing educational opportunities that are not available in the high school setting. Such procedures must include the requirement that the high school principal or counselor approve participation of a student in the college program.

6. Campuses may establish procedures for the admission of applicants who do not meet the minimum requirements set forth in these regulations. Such procedures shall include submission of evidence of the ability to do college-level work and shall be subject to approval of the Commissioner of Higher Education.

7. Campuses may establish the category of special or non-degree student. This category will allow admission for the purpose of taking a limited number of credits without the complete documentation required in a regular application for admission.

8. Students in credit continuing education courses must meet the same admission requirements and academic standards as students in regular academic courses.

9. Falsification or willful suppression by a student of any information called for on an application for admission may be grounds for cancellation of admission.

10. Any campus may deny or condition admission, readmission, or continuing enrollment of any individual who, in the judgment of the campus, presents an unreasonable risk to the safety and welfare of the campus and persons thereon. In making such judgment, the campus may, among other things, take into account the individual's history and experience relative (a) to violence and destructive tendencies, (b) to behavior on other college campuses, and (c) to any rehabilitative therapy the individual may have undergone. A decision to utilize the authority conferred by this paragraph shall be communicated to the individual in writing. Each campus shall have a procedure by which such decisions may be appealed.

11. a. All foreign students, except those qualifying for an exemption under part c. below, entering any institution of the Montana University System must show a physician-validated immunization record for measles, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, and skin testing for tuberculosis. This evidence must be presented before a student is permitted to register.

b. All non-foreign students, except those qualifying for an exemption under part c. below, entering any institution of the Montana University System born after December 31, 1956, must show proof of immunization on or after their first birthday and after December 31, 1967, against measles and rubella. Immunization may be shown by the record of a physician, health agency or a school. Immunization against measles can also be shown by a physician's record of diagnosis of the disease. Such evidence must be presented before a student is permitted to register.

c. i) Medical exemption. A person qualifies for a medical exemption when the person files a bona fide statement signed by a physician licensed to practice medicine within the United States verifying that the physical condition of the person seeking to attend school makes the required immunization unsafe and indicating the specific nature and probable duration of the condition. The exemption shall not extend beyond the period of the condition which contraindicates immunization.

ii) Religious exemption. A person qualifies for a religious exemption when the person files a notarized affidavit on an approved form that immunization is contrary to the religious tenets and practices of the signer.

12. All first-time entering first-year, traditional undergraduate students (those who enter college within three years of high school graduation or within three years from the date when they would have graduated from high school) will be required to take the ACT (American College Testing program) or SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Testing program) and submit the results to the institution.

13. First-time, first-year undergraduate students will be required to have completed the college preparatory program now recommended in Board Policy 301.7 effective fall quarter/semester 1990.

14. Minimum entrance requirements in addition to the college preparatory program also effective for the fall quarter/semester 1990 are identified in Board Policy 301.1 (in-state students) and in Policy 301.2 (out-of-state students).

15. Any student seeking admission to a four-year program at one of the four-year institutions of the Montana University System must also satisfy the mathematics proficiency standard set out in Board Policy 301.15.

16. The Commissioner's Office will establish a procedure for monitoring performance of all students based on: ACT or SAT score, high school GPA, age, high school standing and course of study.

History:

Board action April 1, 1929 (rescinded); Item 18-002-R1077, Admission Requirements: General Policies; Montana University System, October 28, 1977 as revised April 13, 1984, May 3, 1985, December 1986, December 16, 1988, September 14, 1989, March 22, 1990, April 26, 1990, November 20, 1997, and January 28, 1999; editorial changes made July 14, 2004.


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