TO: Montana Board of Regents

 

FROM: Roger Barber, Interim Deputy Commissioner for Academic & Student Affairs

 

RE: Possible Consolidation of Admissions Requirements Policies

 

DATE: October 22, 2003

At the September 2003 Board of Regents meeting, I briefly discussed the number of individual policies governing admission to the Montana University System. I suggested that a consolidation of those policies may be helpful, especially for parents and students.

 

As background information, the Montana Board of Regents has adopted the following policies concerning admission:

  • Policy 301, Admissions; General
  • Policy 301.1, Admissions Requirements; In-state Undergraduates
  • Policy 301.2, Admissions Requirements; Out-of-state Undergraduates
  • Policy 301.3, Admissions Requirements; Graduate Students
  • Policy 301.7, College Preparatory Program

 

In addition to those policies, the Board also approved mathematics proficiency requirements for four-year programs at its July 2003 meeting. That admissions standard needs to be added to the policy and procedures manual of the Montana Board of Regents; and if past practice is followed, it will become a separate item.

 

If the Montana Board of Regents eventually accepts a writing proficiency standard for admission to four-year programs, yet another policy will be created.

 

A possible solution to this proliferation of separate admissions policies is the creation of single policies that include all of the applicable admissions standards. That consolidation could result in the following policies:

  • a general admissions policy, which essentially includes directives to the various campuses;
  • an undergraduate admissions policy for in-state students, which sets out all of the standards for admission that apply to those Montana residents;
  • an undergraduate admissions policy for out-of-state students, which sets out the standards for admission that apply to those non-resident students;
  • a graduate student policy.

 

The result will be a long, quite detailed list of admissions standards for students. But all of the relevant information for admission will be available in one policy, based on the student s residency status and educational goals.

 

I have attached an example of the undergraduate, in-state admissions policy that would grow out of such a consolidation.