Establishing Campus Admission Policies

Scope

All prospective students applying for admission at any Indiana University campus for the 2021 semesters and thereafter. To the extent that any provision(s) of this policy conflict with IC 21-40-4, Indiana law shall control.

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Policy Statement

1. Indiana University is committed to a robust admissions process that complies with state and federal law.
2. Indiana University will base its admission decisions on the academic quality of the applicants. Indiana University does not discriminate in its admission policies on the basis of age, color, disability, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, or ancestry.
3. Indiana University will base its admission decisions on an overall evaluation of applicants’ merits, strengths, and weaknesses. Applicants should demonstrate combinations of academic preparation, aptitude, motivation, and maturity that promise success in Indiana University’s academic programs. Indiana University does not use a rigid set of rules. Admission to the university is at the discretion of the university and is specific to the campus applied to.
4. The chief academic officer(s) and/or Chancellor of a campus may, with input of the relevant faculty governance organization, set the admissions policies and standards for students applying to that campus, consistent with this policy.
5. Admission standards, including test score and grade standards, should aim to meet both the campus’ need for its students to be adequately prepared and qualified to succeed in the academic work required of its undergraduates, and the applicants’ needs to have a realistic indication of the preparations and qualifications required to succeed in the academic work.
6. The standards should recognize that there are not rigid numerical borderlines between applicants who are likely to succeed at the university and those who are not. Any campus that sets numerical guidelines for high school class rank, GPA, or test scores should aim for a realistic and flexible standard.
7. On each campus, the Chancellor and/or chief academic officer may, with input from a faculty governance organization, schools, programs, or academic units, set admissions policies appropriate to that unit that differ from, are in addition to, or are more rigorous than, the general campus admission standards. Nonetheless, all campus-level admissions policies and standards shall comply with applicable law.
8. An applicant may simultaneously apply for admission to more than one campus.
9. Applicants who are not admitted should be advised of what steps to take in order to be reconsidered at a later date.

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Reason for Policy

Setting admissions standards for undergraduates is an important function of Indiana University. Recognizing that campuses serve different undergraduate constituencies and have different academic missions, all campus stakeholders play a role in providing advisory input in setting those standards.

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Procedures

Standards and Guidelines

1. All Undergraduate Students
   1. Each campus admission policy must include a requirement that applicants submit evidence of
      verbal, quantitative, and reasoning abilities; academic motivation; college preparedness; and
      maturity. Such evidence may consist of any of the following in any combination:
      1. Performance in high school, such as class rank and grades, including the trends of an applicant’s grades over time;
      2. Performance on nationally standardized exams such as the SAT or ACT;
      3. Personal essays;
      4. Extra-curricular activities, community service and work experience;
      5. Military service;
      6. Letters of recommendation.
   2. Each campus and unit may require applicants to have taken a diverse set of relevant college preparatory courses in high school in subjects such as English, mathematics, social science, history, biology, physical science, and foreign language. Any such policy must include a procedure for considering the applications of students who could not complete the requirements because they were not available at the applicant’s high school or for other good reasons.
   3. An applicant should normally have a high school diploma before matriculation. Indiana residents should have completed a Core 40 high school diploma or equivalent, or a Core 40 with Academic Honors diploma. Each campus should have a policy for considering the applications of students who do not have the required diploma.
   4. Admission decisions may also take into account of known strengths and weaknesses of an applicant’s high school or other college preparatory programs and the trends of applicants’ grades in college preparatory courses.
   5. Each campus admission policy must provide guidelines for assessing the academic preparation of applicants who were home-schooled, attended schools outside the United States, did not complete high school, or who, for any other reason, lack traditional indicia of academic preparation. Such guidelines may include obtaining a high school equivalency diploma.
   6. For applicants who are at least twenty-one years old or have been out of high school three or more years, admission can also be based on factors such as a high school equivalency diploma, maturity, work experience, and military service, as determined by the respective campuses, schools and academic programs to which they apply.
   7. Each campus shall have a policy for individual consideration of the application of a student with a prior criminal or juvenile record and may not automatically deny admission to the applicant.
   8. Each campus may have a policy allowing the admission of students on a probationary basis, which may include faculty sponsorship.
   9. Each campus admissions policy should assign responsibility for its implementation to a vice provost/chancellor for enrollment or other appropriate campus officer, who shall report to the campus faculty governance organization from time to time on the qualifications of admitted students and the level of student academic quality and success.
2. External Transfer Students
   1. Applicants who have previously attended one or more community colleges, colleges, and/or universities must satisfy the following additional requirements:
      1. Applicants must submit official transcripts from all institutions previously attended.
      2. For applicants who have attended a community college, college or university within the past three years, the transcripts must show a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 on a 4.0-point scale for Indiana residents and for non-residents for whom there are applicable
         tuition-reciprocity agreements, and at least 2.5 on a 4.0-point scale for others.
   2. Applicants who have more than 26 transferable semester hours may submit those hours as additional proof of academic ability and preparedness.
3. Inter-Campus Transfer Students
   Applicants for transfer between campuses of Indiana University must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.0 and must satisfy any admission standard for the campus to which the student is transferring that is in addition to or more rigorous than the standard on the campus from which the student is transferring, including a higher grade point average if it is required by that campus.

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Definitions

Admission: A student’s first acceptance to be an undergraduate on a campus. It does not include acceptance into a school, unit, program or department after the student has been admitted to the campus.

High School Equivalency Diploma:  Includes the GED, HiSET, TASC or their equivalent.

Chancellor and/or chief academic officer: Includes that officer’s designee.

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History

(University Faculty Council, April 28, 1987; Board of Trustees, August 4, 1987; University Faculty Council, January 31, 2006;  Board of Trustees, March 3, 2006; University Faculty Council, November 12, 2019; Board of Trustees, December 6, 2019)

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