Louisiana’s Board of Regents today postponed adopting penalties for universities that violate admissions standards, The News Star reports.
The amendments to the admissions policy were prompted by former LSU President F. King Alexander’s decision in 2018 to adopt a “holistic” admissions policy less reliant on ACT and SAT scores.
“It all came out of a hotbed that was stirred up a couple of years ago,” says Regent Randy Ewing of Ruston. “I support deferring until next month until this is clearer.”
In 2018, LSU began placing more emphasis on recommendation letters, personal essays and activities outside the classroom for admissions, a move critics say lowered standards and diminished LSU’s stature as a state flagship university, as reported by Daily Report.
Louisiana’s regents set standards for all of the state’s university boards and their schools. Some exceptions for minimum admissions standards are already allowed, but LSU exceeded that number.
But there are no consequences or penalties for violating the admissions standards. The proposed amendments would allow the regents to ultimately withhold funding for universities that exceed the allowed number of exemptions to the minimum admissions policy. Read the full story.
