As you respond to your peers, address the social, political, and environmental factors that may influence the implementation of the proposed admission policies. Provide examples of ways that your peer

 VERA DISCUSSION:

 Hello everyone!

            The enrollment policy I am proposing is designed to replace the current admissions criteria. In place of the presently accepted SAT and ACT testing, we would require aptitude testing that would be used to identify college majors along with a rigorous internship from secondary school. These internships would carry into college to become a job. Initially, the institution would need a phased approach with targeted institutions, but could then expand to a larger region.

             The problem we hope to solve is multi-faceted. The primary focus of the institution was to become less selective and more diverse. Our proposed policy would address that concern but,  after a student's admission, the issues of retention, transfer, and student debt have become significant (Jump, 2020). Crafting a policy that addresses all these concerns is complex and perhaps not attainable. I found that through my research that policy alone really does not solve all problems, but a plan and process must be instituted in support of the policy. This requires buy-in from an array of stakeholders and constant management by the admissions team. Without an understanding of the larger regulatory, political, and financial issues, the policy is doomed. Much is needed to get a new initiative off the ground. However, I believe we must change how we recruit, educate, and graduate students. Student debt is overwhelming and adding difficulty finding gainful employment after graduation is disheartening. Without change, higher education will not be able to sustain itself in the future.

            The world is changing rapidly and to keep up with those changes, college enrollment must adapt. Present-day students spend countless hours and money prepping for college testing, applying to multiple institutions, and negotiating financial aid. The missing piece of this puzzle is ensuring the institution and coursework are a good fit. If we can solve that dilemma, we may be more able to tackle others like diversity, retention, and student debt (Jamison & LaBenne, 2007).

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Vera

Jamison, W. B., & LaBenne, W. (2007). Career Development as a Retention Tool: Early Intervention for Incoming Deciding Freshmen. Retrieved June 01, 2020, from https://www.ncda.org/aws/NCDA/page_template/show_detail/5414?model_name=news_article

Jump, J. (2020). Ethical College Admissions: Yogi Berra, Wile E. Coyote and Albion. Retrieved June 01, 2020, from https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/views/2020/03/02/future-college-admissions-worrisome-opinion

EMILY DISCISSION:

My proposed policy focuses on increasing access to underrepresented students in urban school districts by establishing a partnership with charter institutions. The partnership policy would commit the institution to recruit and enroll a set amount of students from the partnership institutions while also implementing secondary support systems to provide guidance and additional resources to students on campus. The policy would focus not only on increasing access to underserved students, but also provide important information regarding financial aid, transitioning to collegiate life and academic support. The outcome of the policy would be to increase the enrollment, retention and completion rates of underrepresented and underserved students.

            Writing a proposed policy has been an interesting experience. While I was aware that enacting a new policy on campus involves multiple departments, institutional leaders and effective communication, I was not so aware of all of the political and environmental factors that can impact policy writing. I think that it was important to learn about different state policies and the effectiveness of each states’ policies; understanding how federal policies impact state and institutional policies allows for better comprehension when crafting a new admissions policy. When creating my own admission policy, the greatest influence were the social and political factors surrounding the lack of access and resources to underserved and underrepresented student groups. According to Perez-Felkner (2015), LantinX and African-American youth continue to be underserved in the American higher education system (p. 2). Leaders in higher education need to commit to reform their policies in order to provide greater access to more students. Pennamon (2018) stresses the importance of reforming higher education in order for more students to not only have access to higher education, but also have the resources to complete their degrees (p. 12-13). Reforming higher education systems cannot be achieved overnight, and need support from leaders and administrators within the system.

            Creating policies such as the proposed will allow for more students to have the opportunity to earn a college degree and pursue a better life. The proposed policy will impact higher education by committing to serve all students, not just the historical applicants. The policy would also impact other areas on campus such as student activities and student groups. New and important student groups would have the opportunity to organically grow on campus. Additionally, institutions should be committed to educating students to be well-rounded individuals who will advance society; they should not just be committed to recruiting students. Institutions should also be committed to educating students who want to receive an education, especially since they will be the ones to replace the retiring workforce. Without the commitment to reforming admission policies, underrepresented students will continue to be underserved.

References

Perez-Felkner, L. (2015). Perceptions and resilience in underrepresented students’ pathways to college. Teachers College Record, 117(8), 1–60.Retrieved from http://www.tcrecord.org. ezp roxy.snhu.edu/library/content.asp?contentid=17996

Pennamon, T. (2018). Higher ed policy forum encourages action on access, affordability, accountability. Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 8, 12-13.