New ‘regent admission index’ proposed for students without class rank

DES MOINES - The Board of Regents next week could approve a revised standard for assessing applicants to its public universities in cases where a high school class rank is not available.

That could provide more clarity for some applicants curious about whether they qualify for automatic admission to Iowa's public universities under the 'regent admission index.”

The original index - which scores applicants based on ACT or SAT scores, grade-point average, the number of completed high school core courses and high school rank - will remain unchanged in cases where high school rank is available.

But, if the board approves recommended changes at its meeting next week, a new formula will be applied to students from high schools that have done away with class rank. The new formula, in those cases, will give more weight to test scores and grade-point average.

In-state students who score at least 245 under either formula qualify for automatic admission to Iowa State University, University of Northern Iowa and University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Students who score below 245 are considered on an individual basis, and out-of-state applicants can be held to higher standards.

The regents decided to evaluate the scoring index because a growing number of high schools no longer track class rank - 31.6 percent of freshmen across the three regent schools in fall 2013 didn't have one - and because the universities have developed individual alternatives to gauging admission for those students.

That raised concerns among Board of Regents staff and a consultant hired to assess efficiencies across the regent universities.