Dive Brief:
- Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed legislation Tuesday that directs the state’s public university network to create a guaranteed admissions system.
- State high school students who rank within the top 10% of their class would be accepted into most Universities of Wisconsin institutions. However, only students within the top 5% of their class would get a guaranteed spot at University of Wisconsin-Madison, the state’s flagship.
- The state’s high schools will also be required to establish rankings at the end of junior year if the class has at least 15 students. Homeschooled students would be guaranteed admission if they score in the 90th percentile on a college entrance exam, such as the SAT or ACT, among national test takers.
Dive Insight:
Guaranteed admissions has garnered attention as a means of increasing enrollment and diversifying student bodies.
Texas developed a high-profile guaranteed acceptance policy in the late ‘90s after a federal appellate court barred race-conscious admissions in three states under its jurisdiction. The state’s program remains one of the most well known and has spurred high-profile legal action. However, recent research found it hasn’t done much to change which high schools send students to the state’s selective colleges.
Still, proponents of guaranteed admissions say it can provide a clear pathway for students to gain entry to certain colleges.
Last year, the University of Tennessee system unveiled a similar program that promises admission to students in the top 10% of their high school class and to those who earn a GPA of 4.0 or higher. System officials expressed hope that the policy would entice students to remain in state for their education.
Evers similarly praised guaranteed admissions Tuesday as a means of training and retaining Wisconsin talent. He cited Universities of Wisconsin data that found almost 9 in 10 of the system’s in-state students stayed five years after they earned their degree.
“Our state faces immense workforce challenges, and bolstering our workforce to make sure it can meet the needs of the 21st Century means working to keep our state’s homegrown talent right here in Wisconsin, ” he said in a statement.
All thirteen Universities of Wisconsin institutions will be included in the program. It will go into effect for admission to the system for the 2025−26 academic year.
Last month, the system’s office of government relations provided written testimony in support of the legislation.
“We want to make the pathway to our campuses easier and more accessible for Wisconsin’s top students,” the office said. “Establishing this guaranteed admission program will help make that a reality and encourage more of Wisconsin’s best and brightest students to remain in our state.”
Independent of the Legislature, the Universities of Wisconsin has also toyed with alternative admissions policies.
Jay Rothman, president of the system, announced last year it would launch direct admissions as a means of boosting enrollment. The program, called Direct Admit Wisconsin, plans to send in-state high school students acceptance letters based on information such as their GPA or coursework without them needing to apply.
Three of the systems’ campuses — UW-Madison, UW-La Crosse and UW-Eau Claire — elected not to participate.
