The high school GPA requirement for entering freshman was increased to 3.00 for Fall 2004.  Previously, the minimum GPA required of new freshmen for admission was 2.50.  At the time when the decision to raise the minimum GPA was made, there was much speculation about how the change would affect the composition of the entering freshman class.  This report compares the characteristics of the Fall 2004 freshman class to previous cohorts in an effort to assess the effect of the new admissions GPA. 

Enrollment

 

New freshmen are students who enter PSU directly from high school, obtain a GED, or transfer less than 30 college credits.  For Fall 2004, 1,402 new freshmen enrolled at PSU. As shown in Figure 1, the size of the Fall 2004 cohort was somewhat smaller than the previous two cohorts, but contributed to an overall pattern of growth across the past five years.  The slightly lower number of new freshmen in Fall 2004 parallels the statewide trend in slightly declining freshman participation rates across Oregon University System institutions. 

More new freshmen have entered PSU directly from high school in the last two years, whereas fewer new freshmen have transferred college credits to PSU (see Figure 2.)   The proportions of full- and part-time new freshman for Fall 2004 were similar to those of previous cohorts; 82% of new freshman attended full-time and 18% attended part-time during Fall 2004. 

Academic Background

 

Average high school GPA ranged from 3.15 to 3.18 between Fall 2000 and Fall 2003 (see Figure 3).  For Fall 2004, the entering high school GPA for new freshman increased to 3.23, reflecting the new admission requirement.  Average composite SAT scores also increased over the same time period.  In Fall 2000, the average composite SAT score was 1019.  In Fall 2004, the average composite rose to 1044. 

 

Student Characteristics

Slightly more than half of the entering freshmen were women (53%).  This proportion has fluctuated only slightly in the last 5 years, ranging from 52% to 54%. 

 

The average age of new freshmen has been 19 years since the beginning of the decade. Although the trend is slight, each year the entering freshman class is slightly younger.  For Fall 2000, the average age of new freshmen was 19.4 years (ranging from 16 to 56 years).  In comparison, the average age was 19.1 years (ranging from 16 to 50 years) for new freshmen in Fall 2004.

As shown in Figure 4, another way to view the slight trend toward younger students is to look at the percentage of traditionally-aged new freshmen, in other words, new freshmen who are 18 years of age.  Over the past 5 years, the percentage of new freshmen who were 18 years of age was lowest during Fall 2002.  At that time, only 48% of new freshmen were 18 years of age. Since then the percentage has increased.  For Fall 2004, 53% of new freshmen were 18 years of age. 

As shown in Figure 5, approximately one fourth of new freshmen represent ethnic minorities (not including international students). Over the past five years, the percentage of ethnic minority freshmen has decreased from 28% near the beginning of the decade to 23% currently.

 

In particular, the percentages of Asian/Pacific Islander and Black freshmen have decreased over the past five years (See Figure 6).  Asian/Pacific Islander students represented 15.4% to 16.9% of the new freshman class at the beginning of the decade.  For Fall 2004, 10.6% of the new freshmen were Asian/Pacific Islander—almost three percentage points fewer than the previous year.  The percentage of Black students among new freshmen fluctuated between 3.4% to 4.4% between Fall 2000 and Fall 2003.  For Fall 2004, 2.9% of new freshmen were Black students.  Although their numbers were small,
making patterns more difficult to detect, slightly more Native American and Hispanic freshmen appear to be enrolling (see Figure 7).  The percentage of Native American freshmen ranged from 1.2% to 1.9% between 2000 and 2003.  For Fall 2004, Native American students represented 2.1% of the entering freshman class.  The percentage of Hispanic student decreased from 5.6% to 3.5% between 2000 and 2002, and has steadily increased in recent years. Currently, Hispanic students account for
5.3% of the new freshman class. 

 

Application and Admission Rates

 

As shown in Figure 8, the overall number of potential new freshmen applying to PSU declined in comparison to the two previous Fall terms.  On average, the applicant pool increased by 15% per year between Fall 2000 and Fall 2003.  From Fall 2002 to Fall 2003, applications increased by 8%.  In contrast, applications decreased by 8% between Fall 2003 and Fall 2004.  The decrease in PSU applications may reflect statewide decreases in Oregon University System applicants. 

In addition, a somewhat smaller proportion of applicants were admitted to PSU compared to previous years.  Between Fall 2000 and Fall 2003, 82% to 87% of applicants were admitted to PSU; more specifically, 84% of applicants were admitted for Fall 2003. In contrast, only 79% of applicants were admitted for Fall 2004.  Although many factors not accounted for in the present analysis could influence the application and admission numbers, the trends suggest that the more rigorous admission requirement affected the admission decisions of some students.

 

The potential for the new requirement to affect students differentially by ethnic background warranted further analysis.  Of particular concern were Black and Asian/Pacific Islander applicants because of the slightly decreasing trend in their enrollment rates.

The proportions of Asian/Pacific Islander and Black applicants for Fall 2004 were similar to previous years, suggesting that the new GPA requirement did not discourage these groups from applying to PSU.  As shown in Figure 9, the admission rate for Asian/Pacific Islander students decreased slightly in Fall 2004, but no more so than for the overall applicant pool.  In contrast, the decrease in the admission rate of Black applicants was greater.  From Fall 2000 to Fall 2003 the admission rate for Black new freshmen increased from 66% to 77%.  For Fall 2004, the admission rate for Black students decreased to 56%.   

Students who do not meet the new GPA requirement alone continue to have the option to gain admission with a SAT score of 1000 or a combination of a minimum GPA and minimum SAT scores according to a matrix set by the Office of Admissions (see http://www.pdx.edu/admissions/freshman_reqs.html for more detail).  In addition, students who do not meet any of these admission requirements may petition for special admission to PSU.  This feature of PSU’s admission policy was emphasized as a way of offsetting the potentially negative effects that the new GPA requirement might have for differentially excluding underrepresented students.

 

Overall, the percentage of new freshmen entering PSU under the special admissions policy has not varied much in the past three years; it was 18.5% in Fall 2002, 17.3% in Fall 2003, and 18.8% in Fall 2004.  In contrast, the percentage of Asian/Pacific Islander and Black students who entered PSU with special admissions increased between Fall 2003 and Fall 2004.  As shown in Figure 10, approximately 18% of new Asian/Pacific Islander freshmen entered PSU with special admissions in Fall 2002 and Fall 2003, whereas almost 25% of new Asian/Pacific Islander freshmen entered PSU with special admissions in Fall 2004. The increase is more pronounced among Black students:  approximately one fourth to one third of new Black freshmen entered PSU with special admissions in Fall 2002 and Fall 2003.  In comparison, over half of new Black freshmen entered PSU with special admissions in Fall 2004. 

 

Conclusions

The new admission requirement of a 3.00 minimum GPA has not had a drastic impact on the composition of the new freshman student body. When viewed in light of five-year trends, the generally small differences between the Fall 2004 entering freshman class and previous years appear to be part of overall trends. With few exceptions, they do not appear to be sudden changes due to the effects of the new GPA requirement. 

The effect of the new GPA requirement is most evident in the increase in the average entering high school GPA of new freshman, as one might expect.  In addition, there is some indication that the higher minimum GPA might have more of an impact on some minority students than on the general entering class.  This was particularly evident in the admission rate of Black new freshmen.  Although the application rate for Black students was similar to previous years, the admission rate was lower (when compared to previous years and when compared to the overall application rate for Fall 2004) and more Black students entered PSU under the special admissions policy than in previous years.  Although the evidence to support the assertion that the higher entering GPA has a differential impact on students by ethnicity is not conclusive, this aspect of the new admission requirement should be monitored carefully.

 Rowanna Carpenter , Graduate Assistant, and Juliette Stoering, Institutional Research Analyst, created this edition of the Portland State University Research Update.