By Sean Mickey and Mike Hogan, Sports Assignment Editor and Editor-in- Chief
The St. Bonaventure University Faculty Senate will vote on a motion to become a test-optional institution today. The enrollment and marketing committee put forward the formal motion to become SAT/ACT test optional after discussing the possibility at the January faculty senate meeting.
If passed, SBU would join several New York colleges and universities in becoming test optional, including Ithaca College, Niagara University, Siena College and the University of Rochester.
According to the enrollment and marketing committee and the office of admissions, the rationale behind becoming a test-optional institution stems from the university’s Franciscan mission.
Its vision is to provide opportunities for applicants it deems qualified, who may be economically disadvantaged or reluctant to submit standardized test scores as part of the admissions process.
Laura Peterson, lecturer in music and chair of the enrollment and marketing committee, said students in better economic situations have easier access to test preparation tools.
“Students with economic resources have access to, and can take advantage of, prep options, and are often coached on how to be successful test takers,” Peterson said during her Feb. 18 presentation in the McGinley-Carney Center.
For a number of reasons, Peterson said tests like the SAT and ACT aren’t always accurate predictors of a student’s readiness for college.
Peterson explained that an applicant’s GPA, attitude and motivation aren’t shown in an SAT score. And not every student possesses quality test-taking abilities.
Peterson, along with Bernie Valento and Joseph Zimmer, fielded questions regarding the vote’s possible impact.
Valento, vice president for enrollment, said some high school counselors have been encouraging students to apply to test-optional institutions. While Valento said he would still prefer students to submit test scores, he doesn’t want to eliminate opportunities for students who may be qualified to attend SBU.
“There would be a whole marketing and promotion campaign to let students know we are test optional,” Valento said. “High school counselors have been telling students to apply to test-optional schools first, and what happens is, that institution gets an affinity with that student.”
The senate passed an updated freshman admission requirements policy in Apr. 2018. The updated policy required the normal minimum admission standard to be a combined math and verbal SAT score of 930. The ACT was not mentioned in the updated policy. The senate also stated that in rare cases, when extenuating circumstances exist, the director of admissions would have the sole authority to accept a student who does not meet the minimum requirements. This policy was never published in SBU’s undergraduate catalog, or on its website, or among the governing documents of St. Bonaventure University.
Prior to the updated 2018 policy, the 1992 freshman admissions policy mandated that incoming freshmen achieve a minimum SAT score of 850 and 80% GPA or be in the top 40% of class rank. In 2015, 16% of incoming freshmen failed to meet that admissions requirement. It remains unclear how many current students meet the April 2018 requirement.
Today’s faculty senate meeting will start at 2:30 p.m. in the lower level seminar room of Friedsam Memorial Library.
hoganm17@bonaventure.edu
mickeys17@bonaventure.edu
