02/08/08

I’m not the most informed person, but I keep hearing about lots of changes going on at Baker U nowadays. Lots of changes. Most have been addressed to some degree or another in this newspaper.

In fact, not too long ago there was an editorial about the students who were unable to continue learning here for some reason or another.

Today, I’m going to put my thoughts in on the subject.I’ve also heard that the admissions standards here are getting kind of shaky.

I’ve heard that it’s easier to get into Baker than the University of Kansas. After doing some research, I found that it is true, and it’s kind of sad.

Baker University is a private institution. Part of its allure, for me at least, is a sense of exclusivity.

Baker was a place where I could make my name known; professors and students alike would quake in their boots whenever they found out that I was in a class with them.

Quake, or laugh, whichever, I’m not too sure. Either way, I don’t feel as special now that I realize that I was admitted as part of the “Any Tom, Dick or Sally Can Come Here!” standards.

Now, I realize that not everyone can get the sort of GPA or standardized score needed to attend Baker.

A 2.75 high school GPA isn’t easy. I don’t think most folks would find it incredibly difficult to achieve, however, but maybe that’s just me. Also, an 18 on the ACT is also not an easy thing to garner.

That being said, though, I know of only a few people that got lower than that. My question is why are our standards so low? The third criterion is top half of your class.

For me, half would be the top 15 or so, but for some schools it would be more like the top 100 or more.

Let me state something right now. I’m not saying our admissions standards need to be higher, I think it would be nice, but that’s just me. My point is that I don’t think people should be surprised if we have a hard time retaining students and/or surprised at the number that need to retake LA 101.

As long as we allow less-qualified individuals into our programs and expect to keep the same standards of excellence, I think we will have this problem.

If people want to keep students, then possibly we should lower our expectations to fit the abilities of those being allowed in.

Or maybe we should raise our admissions standards so the students allowed in are more likely to succeed.

Either way, having low entry standards and high expectations seems like a paradox to me. Should we be surprised that some don’t make the cut when the talent pool is a little more diluted than in years past? Just a thought. Have a nice day.