Department of Higher Ed sets meetings for input on college admissions standards

The Colorado Department of Higher Education has scheduled a series of meetings in communities across the state to gather input on proposed changes to the state’s college admissions standards policy and its remedial education policy.

Task force members began meeting in May 2012 to evaluate current policies governing how students are admitted to college and whether they need remedial education before taking college-level courses. Their initial recommendations are aimed at increasing student success in college.

Key recommendations of the Admissions and Transfer Policy Review Task Force include:

• Eliminate the admissions index and focus on demonstrations of competency
• Use results of new K-12 state tests as a factor in admissions
• Guarantee admissions for community college graduates at most four-year universities

Key recommendations of the Remedial Education Policy Review Task Force include:

• Add to the number of tests used, including new K-12 state tests, to determine remedial needs
• Adopt differentiated placement for determining the need for math remediation

The DHE is required by state law to review these policies. The Colorado Commission on Higher Education is scheduled to vote on final recommendations from the task forces by December 2013.

Upcoming meeting times and locations are as follows; a meeting in Pueblo remains to be scheduled:

• Monday – Fort Collins, 1-3 p.m., campus, and 5-7 p.m., community, both at Lory Student Center
• Tuesday – Denver/Littleton, Arapahoe Community College, Half Moon M 1800, 4-6 p.m.
• June 24 – Durango, Durango 9-R administration building, 5-7 p.m.
• June 26 – Grand Junction, Colorado Mesa University, University Center, 5-7 p.m.

Additional information, including detailed recommendations and task force membership:

• Admissions and Transfer Policy Review - http://highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Groups/AdmissionTransferReview/default.html

• Remedial Education Policy Review – http://highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Groups/RemedialReview/default.html