Old Admissions Standards and New Standards Starting with Fall Semester 2006
From its founding in 1964, Cleveland State University has followed a policy of open admissions for first-year undergraduate students. The University has admitted all graduates of accredited Ohio high schools or GED recipients on a first-come, first-served basis up to the limit of available facilities. Clearly, college graduation has a positive economic impact on the individual students and on the community. Today, Ohio’s public universities are judged and funded by whether or not first-time, full-time freshmen remain at Cleveland State and graduate, measures deeply impacted by input characteristics of the students. Based on an analysis of successful Cleveland State students, the university can promote success by admitting freshmen who are prepared academically, as demonstrated by the three criteria below:
- Completion of 13 units of the state-specified, core curriculum in high school
- 4 units of English and
- 3 units each of mathematics, social science, and natural science.
(additionally, 2 units of foreign language and 1 unit of visual/performing arts are strongly recommended)
- Attainment of at least a 2.3 grade-point average (GPA) in high school
- Mandatory completion of the ACT or SAT with a minimum score of 16 or 750, respectively. Students taking the new SAT should earn a minimum combined score of 750 on the math and critical reading sections.
With these criteria serving as the basis for regular admission, the university will offer provisional admission to students who do not fully meet them. These provisional students will be limited to part-time study (11 hours or fewer) during their first year of enrollment at Cleveland State in an effort to promote their academic success. Students not qualifying for provisional admission will be offered dual or deferred admission upon (1) successful completion of specified course work at a regionally accredited, two-year or four-year college or (2) completion of a dual admissions program at an area community college. The new admissions standards were initiated in Fall Semester 2006 and fully implemented by Fall Semester 2008, when provisional students will be limited to part-time study (11 hours or fewer). Under this plan, the university will honor its access mission while enhancing the overall academic quality and success of its first-year students.