SUBJECT: ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Policy 301 - Admissions
Effective _____; Issued _____

Board policy:

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

A. The following general policies apply to all two-year and four-year institutions in the Montana University System:

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

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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. Once a student has arrived on campus, institutions will require them to have tuberculosis shots as required by Homeland Security policies.

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, 301 Admissions; General 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 probably 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.

7. 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.

B. The following general policies only apply to four-year institutions in the Montana University System:

1. 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) or SAT (Scholastic Achievement Test) 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.

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

3. 6. Campuses may establish procedures for the admission of applicants who do not meet the minimum requirements set forth in these regulations in the admission regulations set out in Policy Section 300 of the Policy and Procedure Manual. 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.

4. 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 301 Admissions; General 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).

5. Admission of undergraduate in-state students will also be governed by the standards established in Policy 301.1.

6. Admission of undergraduate out-of-state students will also be governed by standards established in Policy 301.2.

7. 15. 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.