RAI and College Access

Look at New Regents Admissions Policy

Regent Admission Index: http://www2.state.ia.us/regents/rai/
FAQ: http://www2.state.ia.us/regents/rai/FAQ122607.pdf

Students from Iowa high schools planning to begin their studies in fall 2009 or later must have a Regent Admission Index score of at least 245 and take the minimum number of required high school courses to qualify for automatic admission to Iowa State University, the University of Northern Iowa, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at The University of Iowa. Students who achieve a score less than 245 will be considered for admission on an individual basis.

The index combines four factors that strongly predict success at regent universities: ACT or SAT test score, high school rank, high school cumulative grade-point average, and the number of completed high school core courses.

Click here if you don’t have one of the required factors.
Click here if you are not an Iowa high school student.

Regent School Index and acceptable courses:
http://www2.state.ia.us/regents/rai/NCES.pdf

Information

University of Iowa:

For instance, admission standards for most undergraduates are set not by the University but by the Iowa Board of Regents—which establishes uniform standards for UI, ISU, and UNI—making UI far less selective than peer institutions. Even here, the University’s successful lobbying for a new statewide Admissions Index represents progress, since it motivates better preparation for college during the high school years. (This is typical of many ways in which the University improves entry by influencing K-12 priorities.) Nor is the University’s relative lack of selectivity in admissions necessarily a cause for complaint. Many members of the University community believe it contributes to a tendency toward openness and egalitarianism that characterizes many aspects of UI life.
But there is no denying that Regents-mandated standards have far-reaching implications. As noted by the UI Task Force on Persistence to Graduation in its final report (2000), “The public universities with the highest graduation rates are those that are the most selective.” By admitting some students who are not likely to return for a second year, the policy makes it difficult for the University to raise the rate of retention, however exemplary its support services.” Entry and Transition: University of Iowa (June 2007).

QUESTIONS

WHO

* constructed the new systems
* gave input
* initiated the change

WHAT
* counts as a core course?
* motivation behind RAI?
* is the definition of ‘rigor’?
* is this suppose to achieve?
* other policies do we need to consider in relation to this policy?
* do we value?

WERE
* leaders K-12 involved in decision-making process?
* is there a better predictor?

HOW
* do you manage large admissions process within budgetary model?

WAS
* there collaboration with other state systems?