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DOCUMENTS OF THE GENERAL FACULTY
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE ADMISSIONS AND REGISTRATION
COMMITTEE ON THE PROPOSAL TO CONTROL ENROLLMENT BY REDEFINING THE
PROVISIONAL ADMISSION PROGRAM
Dan L. Wheat (civil engineering), on behalf of the Admissions and
Registration Committee, has filed the following recommendations
concerning the proposal to control enrollment by redefining the
Provisional Admission Program.
The secretary has classified these recommendations as general legislation.
These recommendations will be presented to the Faculty Council for
action at its meeting on October 16, 2000.
<signed>
John R. Durbin, Secretary
The Faculty Council
This legislation was posted on the Faculty Council web site (http://www.utexas.edu/faculty/council/)
on October 13, 2000. Paper copies are available on request from
the Office of the General Faculty, FAC 22, F9500.
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RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE ADMISSIONS AND REGISTRATION
COMMITTEE ON THE PROPOSAL TO CONTROL ENROLLMENT BY REDEFINING THE
PROVISIONAL ADMISSION PROGRAM
The Admissions and Registration Committee has met four times this
semester to address the proposal to control enrollment by redefining
the Provisional Admission Program (D
793-796). Following are the committee’s recommendations
to the Faculty Council on the proposal:
- The provisional program as currently structured needs to
be revised or eliminated.
Rationale: The provisional program originally was intended to give
students, who had not been regularly admitted to the University,
a chance to prove themselves in the highly-competitive UT Austin
academic environment. However, in recent years, the quality of the
provisionally admitted students has improved to a point where many
of them perform at a level equivalent to students who were regularly
admitted; also, concerns have arisen for the student’s sense
of pride and accomplishment.
- The provisional program should be retained in some form.
Rationale: The uniqueness of the provisional program among peer
institutions was looked upon as positive. Students with a strong
desire to succeed at the highest level should be given the chance
to do so, even when their entry academic credentials do not signal
success.
- The provisional program should exist totally off the UT Austin
campus.
Rationale: Increased enrollment pressures have led to a dramatic
increase in enrollment in the provisional program at UT Austin.
The consequence is that the University has a reduced ability to
control its admissions. A template for the provisional program would
be developed at UT Arlington, but the eventual inclusion of other
System campuses is anticipated.
A provisional student at another System campus would know exactly
what performance standard is required to enter UT Austin. The student
whose GPA is not sufficient to enter UT Austin still may have a
respectable GPA at his/her institution and, thus, other avenues
of opportunity.
- The proposed three-tiered freshman admission policy to control
enrollment is recommended by the committee.
Rationale: Encouraging approximately 600 students to be enrolled
in the summer relieves pressure on the available teaching resources
in the fall semester.
- Provisional students should be required to complete 30 semester
hours with a minimum GPA of 3.0 in order to be guaranteed admission
to UT Austin.
Rationale: A 30 semester hour year is a full one, but that, along
with the 3.0 GPA requirement, may be used by the student to demonstrate
his/her true abilities. The GPA requirement may have to be adjusted,
depending on many parameters.
- Students in the summer enrollment plan should be required
to take a minimum of 12 semester hours, but there should be a
plan to monitor the actual number of hours taken.
Rationale: A study of the characteristics of last year’s freshman
class indicates that students in the summer enrollment plan are
quite capable academically of taking 12 semester hours. However,
it is recognized that some students may have to take fewer than
12 hours, some for academic reasons and
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others for non-academic reasons. The number of students requiring
a reduced load should be monitored.
The premise of the 12-hour recommendation is that most of the courses
taken in the summer would be whole-session courses, with the exception
of foreign languages.
Marketing of the summer enrollment plan might include: the early
acclimatization to UT Austin; the potential to graduate earlier;
and smaller class sizes in some cases.
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