UA corrects article about enrollment

The Akron Beacon Journal story today (March 24, 2016) on enrollment at The University of Akron is inaccurate, misleading and apparently relied on out-of-date information.

Over the course of the last several years, The University of Akron has increased its admissions standards and – as a result – the academic preparedness of those students who enroll has increased significantly. Contrary to the impression left in the story, the efforts to increase the admission standards have been working and continue to do so. ACT scores and Grade Point Averages (GPA) have climbed from 22.2 (ACT) in the fall of 2012 for those who have paid their confirmation fee to 22.8 at the present time. For those same students, the average GPA has increased from 3.20 to 3.33. Those numbers for the Fall of 2016 are the same as for Fall 2015, although the average GPA has actually risen from 3.32 to 3.33. GPA is generally regarded as a better predictor of student success than standardized test scores.

The story also contained several factual errors:

• As of March 23, 2016, 11,974 prospective students have been admitted for Fall 2016, down from 12,897 last year but up from 11,367 two years ago. The article incorrectly stated that 10,568 have been admitted.
• The article also incorrectly stated the number of admitted students as 11,384 last year at this comparable time and 9,967 in 2014. For 2015, the actual number of admitted students at this comparable date was 12,897; it was 11,367 for 2014.
• Also as of March 23rd, a total of 1,658 admitted students have paid the confirmation fee, not the 1,541 figure that was reported.

The University has acknowledged that confirmations (admitted students who have paid their deposit) for the freshman class for Fall 2016 are running behind last year.

News articles that contain incorrect information and generate misimpressions of what actually is occurring certainly don’t help our efforts. Numerous initiatives are underway to help as many students as possible realize the great and distinctive education they can receive at The University of Akron, with our special focus on providing experiential learning opportunities to better prepare them for their future careers.

The following charts provide additional background and perspective.

Applications

Admit offers

Confirmations