>>> WITH SCHOOLS AND STRUNGION DRAMATICALLY SHIFTING IN THE
WAKE OF THE ONGOING PEPPED PANDEMIC SATS ARE BEING PUT ON
THE BACK BURNER AT MANY COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES.
ONE OF THESE SCHOOLS IS THE UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
WHICH WILL BE SAT OPTIONAL FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
CAROLEE McGRATH SPOKE WITH JIM ROCHE, THE VICE PROVOST FOR
ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT AT UMASS TO LEARN MORE.
>> WE ACTUALLY STARTED LOOK BUILDING AT THIS IN MAY.
WE WERE TRACKING TO SEE THE PROGRESS OR LACK THEREOF OF THE
EFFECT OF THE PANDEMIC ON STUDENTS' AUCTIONS TO GO TAKE
THE TEST. AND WE LIKE A LOT OF SCHOOLS HAD
HOPED BY AUGUST OR SEPTEMBER, THE WORLD WOULD BE IN A POSITION
WHERE IT WOULD BE SAFE AND THERE WOULD BE EASY ACCESS FOR
STUDENTS TO GO TAKE THE TEST. AS WE KEPT AN EYE ON IT THROUGH
THE SUMMER, WE REALIZED THAT WASN'T LIKELY TO HAPPEN.
AND SO WE DID OUR RESEARCH. WE LOOKED TO SEE IF WE THOUGHT
WE COULD COME UP WITH AN EQUITABLE WAY TO HAVE THE
STUDENTS NOT TAKE THE TEST, AND STILL HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION.
WE CAN MAKE AN INTELLIGENT DECISION ABOUT THEIR ACCEPTANCE
OR NOT. AND OUR END RESULT IS WE DO
BELIEVE WE CAN DO THAT. AND SO WE CHOSE TO GO TEST
OPTIONAL SO STUDENTS DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT ONE MORE THING AS
THEY GET BACK TO SCHOOL HERE IN A FEW WEEKS.
>> HOW LONG WILL IT BE TEST OPTIONAL FOR WHICH CLASSES?
>> WE HAVE ACTUALLY DECIDED THAT WE'RE GOING TO GO THREE YEARS.
AND PART OF THE REASON FOR THAT IS BECAUSE AS WE WORKED WITH THE
STATE, AS THE STATE UNIVERSITY, #WR WE CERTAINLY CONTACTED THE
STATE AND TALKED TO THEM ABOUT, GOT THEIR FEEDBACK ON WHAT THEIR
EXPECTATION WAS. AND THEY SAID THAT WHEN THEY
HAVE DONE THIS WITH OTHER SCHOOLS THEY ASKED THEM TO GO
THREE YEARS. WE'RE FINE WITH THAT.
AS A RESEARCH UNIVERSITY WE LOVE TO DO RESEARCH.
AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS
OPPORTUNITY TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT THIS IS SOMETHING WE WANT
TO STAY WITH DOWN THE ROAD OR GO BACK TO WHERE WE WERE IN
PREVIOUS YEARS. >> IN THE ABSENCE OF COVID-19,
HOW IMPORTANT WERE THE SATES OR ACTS WHEN CONSIDERING DIFFERENT
STUDENTS? >> SO OUR APPROACH, I TEND TO
TALK ABOUT THE QUAN TAINCH ASSESSMENT WHICH IS
PREDOMINANTLY YOUR GPA, YOUR TRANSCRIPTORS AND TEST SCORES
AND THEN THE QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT.
WE HAVE DONE A HOLEISTIC REVIEW OF THE APPLICATION FOR YEARS
NOW. THE BALANCE BETWEEN GPA AND TEST
SCORES WAS JUST GOOD EVEN. WE PLUGGED THEM INTO A FORMULA
BECAUSE OUR RESEARCH AND OTHER RESEARCH, THE PEOPLE HAVE DONE,
HAVE SHOWN THAT, YES, INDIVIDUALLY THE GPA IS A BETTER
PREDICTER OF STUDENT SUCCESS, CERTAINLY IN THEIR FIRST OR
SECOND YEAR OF COLLEGE. BUT COLLECTIVELY, TEST SCORES
AND GPA TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE AND GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT
BROADER LOOK AT STUDENT FROM A QUANTITATIVE STANDPOINT.
SO WE ARE COMFORTABLE NOT HAVING THE TEST SCORES, NOT HAVING THEM
AS A REQUIREMENT. BECAUSE WE ALSO FIND THAT
THERE'S A VERY STRONG CORRELATION BETWEEN GPA AND TEST
SCORES. WHAT I MEAN BY THAT IS THE
HIGHER YOUR GPA, TYPICALLY, THE HIGHER YOUR TEST SCORE.
WELL, THAT'S NOT TRUE IN EVERY CASE.
WITH THE KIND OF NUMBERS WE WORK WITH, WE GET 40,000 APPLICANTS.
WE MAKE ABOUT 25,000 OFFERS IN ANY GIVEN YEARS.
HAVING A FEW OUTLIERS HERE OR THERE IS NOT A PROBLEM.
BUT SEEING THOSE PATTERNS AND TRENDS AND TENDENCIES WITH THE
STATISTICS TO HAVE THAT RELATIONSHIP AND HAVING TAKEN AN
EVEN CLOSER LOOK AT THAT IN THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, WE'RE
PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN HANDLE THIS WITH JUST THE GPA
AND WE ARE CURIOUS TO SEE, AS I SAID BEFORE, HOW THIS WORKS DOWN
THE ROAD AND WE'LL KNOW THAT IN A COUPLE YEARS.
>> WHAT WILL THIS MEAN FOR STUDENTS AS THEY APPLY?
OBVIOUSLY, REALLY FOCUS ON THAT GPA.
I MEAN, NOW, THOUGH, IN THE MIDST OF THIS PANDEMIC, IT'S NOT
LIKE YOU CAN SAY, WHAT ARE YOUR EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES?
SCHOOLS ARE REALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHETHER THEY ARE
GOING BACK OR NOT AS FAR AS K-12.
HOW DO YOU PRODUCE STRONG CANDIDATES IN THE MIDST OF ALL
OF THIS? >> VERY GOOD QUESTION.
SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS I'M NOT GOING TO HAVE THE PER ANSWER TO.
I WISH I DID. BUT I DON'T KNOW MANY ANYONE WHO
DOES. I THINK THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT
MANY OF THE HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE HAD THE TIME OVER THE SUMMER TO
ADJUST TO A DIFFERENT STYLE OF TEACHING.
REMOTELY, SPLIT, YOU GO ONE WEEK, YOU DON'T GO ONE WEEK.
I'VE HEARD SO MANY DIFFERENT STORIES ABOUT WHAT SCHOOLS ARE
GOING TO DO THAT WE'RE AS INTRIGUED AS ANYBODY TO FIND OUT
WHAT KIND OF EFFECT THIS MIGHT HAVE ON THE CLASSROOM
EXPERIENCE. WITH THAT SAID, I THINK WE WILL
SEE FOR THE MOST PART THERE IS A CONSISTENCY NOT ONLY WITHIN EACH
SCHOOL BUT FROM SCHOOL TO SCHOOL.
AND I THINK WE'LL FIND SOME COMMON GROUND AND WE'LL HAVE THE
OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A VERY GOOD EVALUATION BASED PRIMARILY ON
GPA AND TEST SCORE YOU MENTIONED ACTIVITIES.
THE HOLISTIC PROCESS THAT CERTAINLY IS SOMETHING ELSE THAT
WE LOOK AT. I DON'T THINK THAT CARRIES QUITE
AS MUCH WEIGHT AS YOUR QUANTITATIVE FACTORS.
SOME OF THE THINGS THAT DO CARRY SOME WEIGHT, AND MIGHT BE
AFFECTED BY THIS, IS WE HAVE STUDENTS, FOR EXAMPLE, WHO CARRY
A FULL LOAD IN HIGH SCHOOL, AND THEY WORK 20 HOURS A WEEK.
SOME OF THEM FROM SINGLE-APPARENT FAMILIES WHERE
THEY ARE ACTUALLY HELPING SUPPORT THE FAMILY FINANCIALLY.
THAT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT WHEN WE ARE AWARE OF THIS WE
LOOK AT BECAUSE WE OFTEN FIND THAT THESE KIDS HAVE OTHER
FACTORS THAT MAKE THEM VERY STRONG CANDIDATES.
THEY'RE DISCIPLINED. THEY HAVE GOOD TIME MANAGEMENT
SKILLS. THEY'RE RESILIENT.
AND MAYBE THEIR GPA ISN'T AS STRONG AS IT MIGHT BE FOR
SOMEBODY WHO HAS THE LUXURY OF SPENDING MOST OF THEIR DAYS
STUDYING. BUT WE FIND THAT BECAUSE OF
THESE OTHER FACTORS, THESE STUDENTS END UP BEING VERY GOOD
ONCE THEY GET HERE. SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE
HOLISTIC ELEMENT THAT IS WE LOOKED AT AND WE WILL CONTINUE
TO LOOK AT. YEAH, THEY MIGHT TAKE ON A
LITTLE BIT HIGHER SIGNIFICANCE NOW THAN THEY WOULD HAVE IN
PREVIOUS YEARS. >> I THINK SOME KIDS MIGHT BE
LOOKING AT THIS WITH A LITTLE BIT OF RELIEF SAYING, OH, I'M
NOT GREAT AT TAKING A TEST. IS IT GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT
EASIER? KNOWING THAT A LOT OF KIDS MIGHT
BE TAKING A GAP YEAR OR TWO IN THE MIDST OF THIS, PERHAPS TO
GET IN EISENBERG OR THE NURSING SCHOOL?
>> I'M RELUCTANT TO SAY EASIER --
>> LESS COMPETITIVE IS MAYBE THE BETTER WORD FOR IT.
>> YEAH. FOR SOME KIDS, IT WILL.
YOU ARE RIGHT. WE HAVE SOME STUDENTS WHO ARE
VERY GOOD IN THE CLASSROOM. THEY HAVE, YOU KNOW, HIGH
GRADES. AND, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THEY DID,
JUST DIDN'T TEST WELL. MAYBE THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE
OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE THE TEST MORE THAN ONCE.
AND WE, LIKE ALMOST EVERY SCHOOL IN THE COUNTRY THESE DAYS, SUPER
SCORE WITH THE TEST. HAD WHICH MEANS IF YOU TAKE IT
TWICE WE TAKE THE BEST COMPONENT OF EACH OF THOSE TESTS.
THERE AGAIN, THERE ARE STUDENTS WHO ARE AUTOMATICALLY AT A
DISADVANTAGE BECAUSE THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO TAKE THE TEST MORE
THAN ONCE. AND THEIR FIRST TEST SCORES ARE
THEIR FINAL TEST SCORES. SO I THINK THIS TAKES SOME OF
THE WEIGHT AND SOME OF THE PRESSURE OFF OF THAT.
AND RELYING HEAVILY ON THE GPA, KNOWING ABOUT OTHER FACTORS THAT
WE'VE ASKED STUDENTS TO TELL US ABOUT IN THE APPLICATION
PROCESS, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO FIND THAT -- I LIKE TO USE THE
WORD "BALANCE." WE MAY BRING MORE BALANCE NOW TO
SOME OF THOSE STUDENTS WE TALKED ABOUT WHO DID WELL IN HIGH
SCHOOL, DIDN'T TEST WELL. I WOULD SAY THEY PROBABLY HAVE
INCREASED THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ACCEPTED INTO A SCHOOL LIKE
EISENBERG OR NURSING OR ENGINEERING OR COMPUTER SCIENCE
A LITTLE MORE NOW WITH THE RELIANCE THAT WE HAVE ON THE
GPA.