By Mark Duffy
College admissions is facing numerous challenges today, including a decline in high school graduation; questions about the value of higher education; and shifting test policies, historic legal rulings, and volatility in federal funding. To address these issues, admissions redesigns such as direct admissions have been developed in states and postsecondary systems across the country. In support of this work, Lumina Foundation launched The Great Admissions Redesign, which aims to “fundamentally simplify how students access college.” As a research partner in this project, Research for Action (RFA) led a study of the national landscape of admissions redesign and conducted an evaluation of three implementation grants. Drawing from these learnings, we collaborated with Lumina to design an online resource, Postsecondary Admissions Redesign: A Toolkit for Policymakers and Practitioners. As part of this toolkit, RFA identified a series of lessons for the field that we share in the discussion that follows.
First, it is important to understand what motivates these shifts in traditional admissions policies and processes, as well as arguments to encourage change in states that have yet to adopt similar programs. These motivations include:
- Anticipated enrollment cliff: Due to lower birthrates resulting in decreases in high school graduates, as well as questions about the value of higher education, postsecondary institutions—especially regional universities and community colleges—are concerned about current and projected decreases in postsecondary enrollment.
- Focus on increasing college access and success: States have set goals to increase the percentage of residents with a postsecondary degree or credential, at least in part to address workforce development needs, as well as in response to data showing that those who complete a postsecondary education earn more over their lifetime than those with only a high school diploma.
- Need to reflect the post-COVID environment: The pandemic changed how many of our systems work, including college admissions, forcing postsecondary policymakers and administrators to question institutional priorities and processes.
- Relative simplicity of the redesign: While no reform is simple or free, admissions redesigns are less costly and complex than larger postsecondary policy shifts, focusing instead on a single barrier to college access: the application process.
- Appeal to policymakers from both political parties: The rapid diffusion of admissions redesigns across so many states provides evidence that policymakers across the political spectrum have found reasons to support these changes.
Further, RFA explored a number of critical elements and strategies for admissions redesign at the state or system and institutional levels:
- Redesign managers who drive adoption and implementation: In order to successfully adopt and implement an admissions redesign, states and systems, as well as colleges and universities, need a point person who can devote their attention to the many aspects of redesign adoption and execution.
- Engagement across state or system and institutional stakeholders: It is critical to engage all stakeholders involved in a state or postsecondary education system when designing, adopting, and implementing an admissions reform, including the governor’s office, the state legislature, institutional leaders, the K12 sector, and financial aid agencies, as well as other policymakers and advocates.
- Awareness of and orientation to the redesign: State or system postsecondary agencies need to make the general public, postsecondary institutions, school districts, and other related state agencies aware of the changes in the admissions process and their role in the reform; this is especially critical within the K12 sector.
- Systems to measure the impact of admissions redesign: In a number of states and systems that have adopted admissions redesigns, available student data do not allow stakeholders to measure the impact of reform. The admissions processes need to allow a state or postsecondary system to track which students receive offers of admission through the program, complete the application process, and enroll in participating postsecondary institutions as a result.
While many states and systems have adopted admissions redesigns, reflecting different political and structural settings, the context in which an admissions redesign is developed can influence whether and to what degree adoption and implementation are successful. Understanding these dynamics can help policymakers create the conditions that can support reform. These conditions include:
- Whether and how the redesign is supported by policy: Although state legislation, board regulation, or other policy mechanisms are not essential for a state or system to adopt an admissions redesign, a mandate requiring the development of such reforms can facilitate implementation and compliance.
- Access to student data on high school achievement: While states have developed workarounds if privacy concerns or structural limitations do not allow postsecondary agencies to gain direct access to student high school records, strong P20 state longitudinal data systems can facilitate these reforms and more easily allow for proactive notification of student eligibility for admission.
- Collaboration across educational agencies, sectors, and postsecondary institutions: The development or use of existing working groups, communities of practice, or other networks at the state or system level, and across the K12 and postsecondary sectors, helps facilitate a shared design, broad support, and successful adoption of an admissions redesign.
Along with those state and system dynamics, people are inundated daily with unsolicited information, sometimes from disreputable sources. This environment can make it difficult to break through the noise to convince prospective students and their families that an offer of admission from one or more postsecondary institutions in a state is legitimate, and that they should take the next step in the admissions process. To address these realities, states and postsecondary systems can:
- Keep the initial messaging simple and clear: While admissions redesign programs typically have multiple caveats and next steps before a student can enroll, the initial messaging to students must get their attention and excite them about their postsecondary opportunities—without listing all the details.
- Communicate through multiple channels: The research is not yet clear on what communication strategies are most effective, and it may vary by student. Programs should leverage multiple communication vehicles, including texting, email, and traditional paper mailings when reaching out to students and families.
- Notify trusted adults as well as students: Along with the students , postsecondary institutions should inform parents or other family members, guidance counselors, and other trusted adults that a student has been accepted through an admission redesign program.
- Make sure to use language that speaks to students: In order to reach students, the messaging needs to be written in ways they will find accessible and credible. It is important to test initial messaging with student groups and use their feedback to craft and refine the language and graphics used in student outreach.
Finally, as with any reform, challenges and unintended consequences arise, such as:
- Access to student data due to privacy and structural issues: Just as access to student achievement data is a condition that facilitates admissions redesign, limited access is a challenge in many states and systems. Privacy concerns around FERPA and lack of cross-sector data sharing infrastructures between K12 and postsecondary education create limitations.
- Loss of revenue from application fee waivers: While waiving application fees is a central component of admissions redesign, it was also commonly listed by institutional respondents as a challenge with this reform. Some states and systems with these programs only provide the waiver to students with financial need or during specific time periods in the application cycle.
- Confusion around multiple related admissions programs: In many states, there are multiple admissions redesigns aimed to help students access postsecondary education or transfer from a two- to a four-year institution, which can create confusion for high school counselors and college administrators as well as students and families.
- Institutional capacity to process additional applications: Some institutions, especially smaller universities and community colleges, have limited admissions staff, and therefore expressed concerns that substantial increases in applications they receive will make processing difficult.
However, admissions redesigns do not address one of the largest barriers to a postsecondary education: the cost of tuition and fees, as well as housing for students studying away from their home community. While application fees are sometimes waived, and offering admission to students who might not have considered college can help increase access and enrollment, students and their families still need to pay for a postsecondary education.
If you would like to learn more about RFA’s study of admissions redesign, feel free to reach out to me at mduffy@researchforaction.org. In my next blog post, I will discuss decision points for policymakers and postsecondary administrators in admissions redesign.