As demographics shift and prices soar, college admission will — if unchecked — become even more competitive and commercial in the future. The vision of our colleagues on the Task Force on Admissions in the 21st Century gives me cause for optimism. As admissions professionals, we need to shape an environment where students and institutions both “win” when admission and enrollment decisions are made not because of a marginally larger scholarship awarded, or the prestige of the window sticker, but rather on how the institution's teaching and programmatic strengths can best fit a student's learning style and goals. Putting the student in the center of the college selection process needs to be the goal of every admission officer in the 21st century.
Robert J. Massa
Vice President for Enrollment
and College Relations
Dickinson College
The Task Force on Admissions in the 21st Century conducted its work focused on the nature of the transition from secondary school to college against the backdrop of the changing admissions landscape. Several elements of change are occurring simultaneously and impacting the way in which all players in the process approach the transition and act within and during the transition process. The key elements of the changing admissions landscape are:
Changing demographics. Changing demographics are an issue. The evidence is clear: The proportion of low-income and minority students in the college admissions pools will grow dramatically in coming decades with the population of Hispanic and Latino students more than doubling. Low-income and minority students have often not been well prepared for postsecondary study and significant numbers of new college students will require remediation. Population shifts between regions complicate the issue, as some institutions in the Midwest, both public and private, wrestle with the problem of filling classes, while elsewhere, other institutions struggle to provide enough places.
Misguided public discussion. The nature of the public discussion is itself a problem. As an example, analyzing press coverage about the costs and difficulty of getting into college would lead to the conclusion that much of the discussion is misguided, as this coverage tends to overstate costs, misrepresent the reality of the school-to-college transition, and even discourage aspiration for college attendance. In fact, 83 percent of undergraduates enroll at institutions where tuition and fees are very reasonable. This and other realities associated with the transition process are rarely reported to the public. Instead, press accounts frequently offer advice on how to beat the admissions “game” and find the “best values.”
A rankings arms race. In many ways, the rankings are a symptom of what's wrong. The rankings, developed for commercial purposes, threaten to distort educational goals. They explicitly encourage the misguided notion that where one goes to college is more important than college attendance itself. Credible recent research suggests these rankings distort institutional priorities by encouraging the redistribution of institutional resources, creating a template to define institutional quality and contributing to the expansion of funds for merit scholarships.
Competition among institutions has its place, but academic competition has to be about the right things and the right values, turning on issues that serve society well.
The “haves” and the “have-nots.” A related challenge involves the “haves” and the “have-nots.” We face the prospect of two Americas divided by income, one well educated and affluent, the other underprepared and poor.
What is at risk here is the essence of the American ideal: the great promise that each generation, by dint of its effort and hard work, would enjoy higher levels of education and higher standards of living than the generation that preceded it. Today, the compact among the generations is threatened, the promise of America as the land of opportunity is at risk, and our children and grandchildren stand to lose.
Read more about the changing admissions landscape in the full report and in the data book Selected Data on P-20 Education in America.
