The Plan for Incoming Students
WSU should recruit and enroll well-prepared incoming students from culturally diverse backgrounds, representing traditional and non-traditional age groups, having a wide variety of interests, talents, and life experiences.
Goal 1: To attract and admit students who have appropriate preparation for success in a university setting.
Currently, admission for new freshmen to Winona State has been based upon a student's high school ranking or standardized test score. While both of these criteria are seen as useful tools in the admission process, neither speak directly to the kind of academic preparation high school graduates bring with them to the university. Evidence abounds that appropriate preparation in high school is directly linked to a student's performance in college.
In 1984, the Minnesota Higher Education Coordinating Board recommended a core set of high school curricula for students wishing to pursue college degrees. Their recommendations included four years of English, three years of math, three years of science, and three years of social studies. Recently, the Blue Ribbon Commission recommended that a specific set of high school courses be required for admission to a Minnesota State University. These system-wide requirements, to be phased in starting in Fall of 1994, will require that a student entering a state university directly after high school must have completed 16 credits of preparatory coursework in high school including four credits of English, three credits of math, three credits of science, 3 credits of social studies, and 3 'elective' credits selected from the arts or world languages and cultures. Preparation standards for older-than-average students would be defined by each university based upon the unique needs of its service region.
The use of preparation requirements is not a tool to reduce enrollment or discriminate against any population served by the Minnesota State Universities. Instead, these requirements are designed to help insure success for a greater proportion of our new entering freshmen.
While preparation standards are an appropriate means for evaluating the admissibility of new entering freshmen, admission criteria for transfer students and non-traditional students must also be addressed. Portfolios, interviews, and essays might be used, in addition to transcripts of any previous college level coursework.
Goal 2: To create a diverse community of learners by attracting students with diverse cultural backgrounds, talents, experiences.
In an active learning community, students learn from each other both inside and outside of the classroom. The plan for incoming students supports the recruitment of students from diverse racial, ethnic, geographic, and socio-economic backgrounds to create opportunities for students to become more aware of and sensitive to our multi- cultural society. A student body which represents various ages, races, backgrounds and experiences also represents different ways of learning, thinking, knowing and relating--and the sharing of these tools can be beneficial to everyone.
Goal 3: To remain sensitive to the role that Winona State plays in relation to students in our geographic service region.
Winona State is an important part of the southeastern Minnesota region. Because of our high profile in the community, we must be aware of the needs of the population in our region as well as recognize opportunities to serve. MY BEST, College for Kids, and Elder Hostel are only a few examples of the excellent work we have begun in this area. Opportunities abound in our region, Winona State must be willing to respond.
Goal 4: To attract an increased proportion of highly talented students.
High ability students can serve as mentors, tutors, and role models to other students on campus. The percentage of high ability students should be increased as these students motivate their classmates to excel.
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