Dive Brief:
- University of Texas regents voted this week to adopt a new policy specifically allowing presidents to intervene in admissions decisions in situations of high institutional importance.
- The decision was approved by all trustees but Wallace Hall, who first took issue with former UT-Austin president Bill Powers’ actions on behalf of various well-connected students.
- The new policy would allow such intervention, rarely, and only in cases of “qualified students” who may otherwise be rejected, for example because their schools do not rank students and therefore disqualify them from automatic admission.
Dive Insight:
Bill Powers ended his tumultuous tenure this past June after coming to a deal over his resignation in July 2014. His admissions interventions were not illegal and had the support of many within the UT community because people believed they were in the best interests of the university. Others, like Hall, disagreed. According to the Austin American-Statesman’s reporting, Hall said the new policy “memorializes bad acts from a hidden admissions program.”
A national survey by Kaplan Test Prep of 400 top colleges’ admissions officers found the UT situation fairly common. One-quarter of respondents said they had been pressured to admit students they otherwise wouldn’t have.