WILL THE NEW PRESIDENT'S PROPOSED PLAN FLY?President John Rudley said the change is needed to restore the tarnished image of the state's largest historically black university, which has struggled with management missteps and sliding enrollment.
About 70 percent of first-time freshmen arrive at Texas Southern without the skills needed to do college work, according to the university.
More than half leave before achieving sophomore status. And only 16 percent earn a bachelor's degree in six years, compared with 55 percent statewide.
Rudley faulted Texas Southern's policy of accepting anyone who passed the high school equivalency test. Instead, he said, students should earn their place through their test scores and grades.
"A university shouldn't have to accept anybody with a GED," he said, referring to the equivalency test. "That means they didn't complete high school but they can come here without the same preparation as others and then be expected to compete."
The idea could be a tough sell among alumni and parents of prospective students who see the open-admissions policy as a ticket to a better life for people who might not otherwise be able to attend college, said John Sapp Jr., a chemistry professor at Texas Southern.
The last president to propose breaking from open admissions -- William Harris in 1992 -- resigned three months later, said Sapp, who is also a Texas Southern graduate.
This man is the real deal!!
ReplyDeleteThere has to be some standard if TSU ever want to be taken seriously as a ligitimate place of higher education.
If your kids can't meet the standards then why they cannot got HCC or someother community college and develop the standards.
Theres absolutly no shame in going and alternate way if what you want is a college degree.
I really hope that his policy will be accepted because when I think of TSu, I always think of scandals. There like a revolving door of presidents, coaches, and administrators, and millions of dollars not being accounted for.
TSU will never become a top tier of higher education unless the black community swallow their pride and get behind this initiative.
I really don't know any justification to keep the admissions open to kids who obviously not ready.
This is not Rudley's call. The state legislature, the THECB, and Sec. of Education Margaret Spelling have already run the end around play so the last bell lap is left to TSU to now shepherd through the rough grounds of public discourse. The work comes now to decide on what will be the cut-off numbers and benchmarks that will be a part of the admissions matrix.
ReplyDeleteCosign Jolo. If you cannot handle TSU's curriculum, then how are you going to compete in the workforce? Why should you spend tax money in the form of student loans if its not actually going to do something for you?
ReplyDeleteThere is absolutely no shame in going to junior college until you are ready for the next step. My aunt has the means to send her son to college but she recognized that he was not socially ready to go to a university so she sent him to North Harris first.
Building a career is not easy. The best thing that any of these kids can do for themselves is building a foundation of excellence to support their future success.