Incoming transfer standards to increase

In Fall 2011, students transferring to GCSU may be expected to satisfy more requirements than has previously been the case. Many students that have transferred in the past have had to satisfy minimum GPA requirements of 2.0, 2.3 or 2.5, depending on the number of transfer credits, to be considered for admission to GCSU.

A new proposal submitted by Enrollment Management states that upcoming transfer students will not only be required to have a minimum 2.5 GPA, but the admissions process for these students will also consider their chosen major, personal essay, leadership and community contributions, life experiences and diversity.

Suzanne Pittman, assistant vice president for Enrollment Management, submitted the proposal to the Academic Policy Committee. The Academic Policy Committee has approved the proposal and has recommended it to be voted on by the University Senate. The policy is intended to help transfer students, Pittman said.

“What we were seeing is transfer students we were bringing in, very few of them were at that 2.0 level and that 2.3 level, in fact our average GPA of our transfer students that were transferring in was a 3.16,” Pittman said. “Seeing that and knowing how competitive some of our academic programs are, things like nursing and some of our education programs, we wanted to make sure that the transfer students that were coming in would actually be able to get into the programs that they wanted to.”

Universities such as Augusta State, Georgia Southern and West Georgia, require a minimum GPA of 2.0 for their transfer students.

“I don’t really think that it compares to any other university systems because we are the only school in the system that uses a holistic approach when we are evaluating students. Most students (from other universities) are chosen on a GPA,” Pittman said.

Lauren Carroll, a junior mass communication major and who previously transferred to GCSU, said she’s in favor of the proposal.

“This new policy does not seem like a bad one. I don’t think it will affect many people in a negative way,” Carroll said. “It seems like it will help admissions choose dedicated students easier. When schools grow but can only house so many, it is almost impossible to allow everyone admission, so this seems like a decent way to help make the choice easier.”

However, Carroll admits that if she were transferring in Fall 2011, she would find the process more tedious.

“Being a student, I would much rather have gone through the requirements that I did when I transferred, but I wouldn’t have minded writing an essay and giving leadership experiences if they needed that information at the time.”

Another student, Dylan Masters, a sophomore accounting major, also previously transferred to GCSU. He said he too believes that the policy proposed would be a positive change for transfer admissions.

“I like the changes, they actually require the student to put some thought and effort into what they are doing,” Masters said.

Pittman believes that if the proposed changes are passed and put into effect in Fall 2011 the outcome of the changes will not only bring in transfer students that are able to show success in their classes and academic programs, but also attract more students that desire the liberal arts education that GCSU offers.

Posted by Lauren Davidson on Feb 5 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry