EVALUATING TEST-OPTIONAL ADMISSIONS AND A COMPLEMENTARY TEST-EXCLUDED SCHOLARSHIP STRATEGY AT A MIDWEST PUBLIC FLAGSHIP UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Institutions of higher education across the country are experiencing unprecedent internal and external challenges. In an increasingly competitive environment to recruit and enroll students, while maintaining goals of access and diversity, colleges and universities are resorting to policies that support these goals. In this vein, and with the purpose of increasing enrollment for underserved student populations, the test-optional admissions movement started gaining popularity particularly as the COVID-19 world heath pandemic ensued.

In this context, the present study seeks to determine if the adoption of a test-optional admissions policy and a test-excluded scholarships strategy were supportive of broadening the access, recruitment, and retention of students from underrepresented minority (URM) backgrounds. The overall structure of the research study was a comparative analysis of pre- and post-policy implementation and used descriptive statistics to compare the two groups representing six years of entering student cohorts, 2018 to 2023, with 2021 representing the year when the policy and strategy went into effect. Independent two-sample t-tests were also used to determine statistically significant change for post-implementation. The selected institution of analysis was a Midwest public flagship university (MPFU).

Some of the findings demonstrated a positive impact on URM student access, including the increase in applications and admitted students. While enrollment rates for the URM group resulted in significant change, it had the opposite effect of declining numbers. On the other hand, URM students received institutional scholarships at significantly higher rates after the adoption of the test-optional and test-excluded scholarship strategy. These last results supported the recruitment and retention of URM students.