University of Virginia Library

University Launches Abbreviated Growth Plan Despite Student Protest

By Holly Smith
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

— Ed.)

Ignoring strong protest on the part of
students and faculty alike, the administration is
launching its long-range growth plan with the
admission of 2150 students in the first-year
class of the college, engineering and
architecture schools next fall.

The number represents an increase of about
150 over last year's 2005 entering students.
Had the administration adhered to the
projected enrollment (as delineated in the chart
published by the Office of Institutional
Analysis on March 2, 1971), the increase in the
total size of the undergraduate schools would
have been 853.

Ernest H. Ern, dean of admissions, is the
man who decides whom those entering students
will be. He must face the wrath of parents of
rejected students who call to ask why their son
or daughter was turned away from an
institution they pay taxes to support. "Once
the acceptance and rejection letters went out,
my switchboard was lit up constantly for days
afterwards," he said.

No less than 9300 people applied for the
first-year and transfer spaces in the various
undergraduate schools, an increase of 2550
applicants over last year, and a 3600 jump over
the 1969 applicant pool.

As the graph on this page shows, the number
of female applicants was almost solely
responsible for this spectacular increase in the
number of applicants: a total of 3120 women
applied for the 550 spaces allotted to female
students next year.

Female Applicants

Commenting on the quality of these women
Mr. Ern states: "The overall attainment of the
female applicants is very impressive
academically and extracurricularly. It was a
horrendous task for the committee to select a
diverse group."

Although the statistics for next year's
entering class have not yet been compiled, Mr.
Ern reports "The average girl's College Boards
are in the low 600's and she ranks in the top
decile of her class."

The number of female applicants has also
caused a shift in the percentage of out-of-state
students. For many years the number of
Virginians averaged around 55 per cent of the
student body. This year, with 80 per cent of
last spring's female applicants being Virginia
residents, the ratio has jumped to 64 per cent.

Virginians' Complaints

According to Mr. Ern, Virginians have been
writing to their representatives complaining
that their qualified children have been denied
admission to the University. The legislators in
turn press for admission of their constituents'
sons and daughters and "the only place it can
give is in out-of-state people."

Refuting a prevalent belief that out-of-state
students are generally of higher quality than
Virginians, Mr. Ern related that "The statistical
attainment of Virginians and non-Virginians are
mirror images."

Why is the University experiencing a near
"flooding" of its applicant pool at a time when
many institutions, such as the University of
Richmond, are actually facing a decrease in the
number of their undergraduate applicants? An
article on admissions in the 1970 September
"Alumni News" gives the impression the
reverse should be true.

"The crisis in college admissions which hit
higher education with the World War II baby
boom now appears to be over," it says. "The
peak came in 1965, and more recently the
number of applications has leveled off.
Although more young people are going to
college, the new community college systems
have absorbed many of the extra students."

Popularity

Mr. Ern cites three reasons for Virginia's
increasing popularity. The sharp rise in tuition
costs at private institutions is sending more and
more students in the direction of
state-supported, less expensive schools.
Coeducation has had a profound effect since it
doubled the potential applicant pool by
allowing women to apply, and made the school
more attractive to a greater number of men.
Thirdly, Mr. Ern points to the University's
"prestige" as a drawing factor.

The recent Student Council report on
expansion cited the increased number of
applications as being a result of the lowering of
standards in terms of College Board scores and
"the University's increasingly permissive
admissions policy," as well as coeducation.

As it stands now, the policy is to "offer
admission to every qualified Virginia male."
(After next year there will be no quota on the
number of women.) The definition of the word

"qualified" - a rather nebulous term to begin
with - has perhaps shifted downward with the
increased pressure from the state legislature,
since the financial allocations are predicated on
head count.

In considering an applicant, the admissions
committee considers the student's class rank as
the most substantive information by which to
judge his accomplishments. His College Board
scores provide "a common external
experience," according to Mr. Ern. He relates
that for the coming year, "a greater percentage
of our entering students are standing in the top
two deciles of their graduating class." The
teacher and counselor recommendations are
also given a considerable amount of weight.

Essays

As for the essay a student writes as part of
his application, Mr. Ern indicated "It's not
what they say, it's the manner in which they
relate it." The admissions committee strives for
a balanced class of leaders, followers, socially

concerned people, athletes, and geographically
diverse students. "You can't have a class made
up of valedictorians. They'd choke one another
by the first of October," the admissions dean
commented.

Minority Recruitment

In the area of minority recruitment the
addition of black recruiters to the admissions
staff is considered to have been a factor in the
increased number of black applicants.
Compared with 195 black applicants last year,
over 250 have applied for admission next fall.
"I think we gained some trust in the black
schools," Mr. Ern says.

Reviewing the overall situation, it appears
that the downward trend in class rank and
College Board scores will be reversed with the
larger applicant pool. On the question of
growth, the administration is taking steps to
increase the size of the University, but is doing
so with caution until the question of expansion
is conclusively settled.