Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven
How to Use Non-Cognitive Admissions Selection Criteria
But No One Wants to Die:How to Use Non Cognitive Admissions Selection Criteria to Meet Affirmative Action Goals in College Admissions
BRYAN G. NANCEBRYAN G. NANCEASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
• Overview• Current Admission Process N i i Ad i i S l i• Non-cognitive Admission Selection• Implementation Solutions• Review of Handouts
• Session DiscussionSession Discussion
A dAgenda
Agendag
OverviewCurrent Admission Process N iti Ad i i S l tiNon-cognitive Admission Selection
Implementation SolutionsReview of Handouts
Session DiscussionSession Discussion
Majority Opinionj y p
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor writing the US Supreme
“The [Supreme] Court expects that 25 years from now the use Supreme
Court majority opinion for Grutter v.
that 25 years from now, the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary to further
Bollenger. g y
the interest approved today.”
C C ll Ad P
Based on an invariant system that is procedurally
Current College Admission Process
Based on an invariant system, that is procedurallybased and consistent from beginning to end.
Ulti t l it d t th i fUltimately it comes down to a synthesis ofinformation to arrive at a decision. Hi hl S bj i Highly Subjective.
Cognitive Admission Criteriag
Grades Letters of GradesWhat grades meanFit & match as
Letters of RecommendationExtra-curricular Fit & match as
displayed in the personal essay
Extra curricular activities*Interviewpersonal essay
Standardized TestsInterview
*Talent based material
Problems with (Cognitive Process)( g )
Reliance of Past Performance.Reliance of Past Performance.Process is Static and unchanged for 100+ years.Rewards past performance not future potentialRewards past performance not future potential.Does not meet the current realities of today’s students and today’s educational processstudents and today s educational process.Prone to Blowback.
2008 Minorities in Higher Education:g
College enrollment (in millions) College enrollment (by race %)
N S l
A process that seeks to level the playing field by
Non-cognitive Selection
A process that seeks to level the playing field by focusing assessment of student abilities or admissibility on other criteria than standardized tests.yMost of this work has been extensively researched and explained by Dr. William E. Sedlacek, in his p y ,book Beyond the Big Test: Noncognitive Assessment in Higher Education (2004).
According to Dr. Sedlacekg
This process promotes the importance of diversity & This process promotes the importance of diversity & offers administrators and faculty:
Legal grounding for enrollment, financial aid and g g g ,support of diverse student groups;New ways to integrate academic and non-academic programs; andUsable instruments that you can copy and distribute.
College Admission Interpretationg p
Out-of-the-box approach to the Admission and Selection process.In addition to using all of the older criteria [cognitive] for admission, it means integrating newer, forward-looking criteria as well.
Great Candidates for Non-Cognitive A li ti R iApplication Review
Underrepresented Students who have pminority (URM) studentsStudent athletes
demonstrated examples of overcoming adversityS d h h First generation students
Students from lower socio economic
Student who have demonstrated instances of self-advocacysocio-economic
backgroundsApplicants with
yInstances of students who have been d l ff t d pp
compelling personal stories
adversely affected because of race, gender or ethnicity
Non-Cognitive Selection Criteriag
A true holistic approach to application review -A true holistic approach to application review acknowledging the entire application and noticing what is said between the linesUnderstanding the institutional “Threshold for Pain” (The tipping point at which an institution reached ( pp g pthe limits of its will to make diversity changes)Commitment to a time consuming and expensive process
Identifying success markers:y g
Persistence Ability to handle PersistenceHard workLove of learning
Ability to handle failureWilling to take Love of learning
Commitment to the learning process
Willing to take (appropriate) academic riskslearning process
Future long range goals
Great work ethicWorking to potentialgoals
Understands and fits institutional culture
Working to potentialDemonstrated seeker of support servicesinstitutional culture o suppo se v ces
U d d I l Th h ld
“Threshold for Pain” the tipping point at which an
Understand Institutional Threshold
Threshold for Pain - the tipping point at which an institution reached the limits of its will to make diversity changesy g
Learning Delta (LΔ) assessment criteriong ( )
LΔ h bl f h ll LΔ captures the intangible factors that illustrate overall effort within the learning process. LΔacknowledges that not everyone starts from the acknowledges that not everyone starts from the exact same spot or the exact same knowledge base. By focusing on LΔ, you can zero in on a base. By focusing on LΔ, you can zero in on a specific student’s individual growth.
(CBO)Community Based Organizations (CBO):
Non-Cognitive Selection Criteria Con’tg
Minimizing the micro-iniquities inherent in yours and g q yall admissions processes.
Micro-inequities, coined by Stephen Young (2006), are cumulative, subtle messages that occur when these signals are negative or promote a negative bias. Mi i i i i Th Micro-inequities are not one-time events. They are cumulative, repeated behaviors that devalue, discourage, and impair performance.discourage, and impair performance.
Non-Cognitive Implementation Issuesg p
(AKA) “Threshold for Lack of allies within (AKA) Threshold for Pain”Institutional racism
Lack of allies within the office of admissions and Institutional racism
Micro-messages and micro-inequities:
external to the office of admissionsmicro inequities:
In the application;As an institution and
A fear of the unknown
office;As an individual.
Potential Solutions for Implementationp
Cultivate institutional buy-in, not a traditional top-Cultivate institutional buy in, not a traditional topdown edict.
Understand the difference between the doers and the thinkers. Write it down for all to see. (e.g. your institution’s Strategic goals as an example)
Build allies in office and on campus.
Potential Solutions for Implementationp
Create documents/benchmark/create processes Create documents/benchmark/create processes that can be used as part of the admission process non-cognitive selection process. g pKeep the process simple and open. Discuss as an office the non-cognitive selection Discuss as an office the non cognitive selection process and the proper ways to use it.
Potential Solutions for Implementationp
Find ways to use Learning Delta. Seek faculty input.Find ways to use Learning Delta. Seek faculty input.Go through the application and the process to see how many micro-inequities are inherent in the how many micro inequities are inherent in the current process.Own the process. Own the process. Expect pushback and embrace it.
Potential Solutions for Implementationp
Methodically look for blowback and how that will Methodically look for blowback and how that will affect the students that you admit. Be prepared to manage success. Can campus Be prepared to manage success. Can campus support the needs of 10% more African American students?Be transparent.
Potential Solutions for Implementationp
Tie this process as closely as possible to the institutional diversity plan institutional diversity plan. Involve University Counsel after you’ve formulated a processprocess.
Handout I. “Digging Deeper”gg g p
Understand how to effectively dig deeperUnderstand how to effectively dig deeperUse a combination of cognitive and non-cognitive criteriacriteriaIdentify and understand likely candidates for non-cognitive criteriacognitive criteriaUnderstand and document non-cognitive factors
Handout I: “Digging Deeper”Handout I: Digging Deeper
Read each application as a puzzle that requires Read each application as a puzzle that requires you to pull details from “between the lines” of the application.ppBe prepared to set aside (within reason) standardized scores.Concentrate on rigor/course selection and high school transcript within the context of the school/curriculum.
Handout I: “Digging Deeper”gg g p
Be prepared to identify non-cognitive factors when making an assessment.making an assessment.
Look for the “backbeat” in the application These are Look for the backbeat in the application. These are indicators of hidden or easily overlooked factor(s) that can affect your review. that can affect your review.
Handout I: “Digging Deeper”gg g p
Look for Community Based Organization affiliations that may give you an indication of the level of commitment to learning.Look for persistence and academic risk taking.Find signs of resilience.
Handout II: Supporting Documentationpp g
Traditional (Cognitive Questions) such as:Traditional (Cognitive Questions) such as:Missing application piecesStudent’s GPAStudent s GPAHighest GPA in classStudent’s class rankTotal number in senior classAny new test scores available? (SAT I/II or ACT)y ( / )Is a fee waiver warranted?
Handout II: Supporting Documentationpp g
Non-cognitive questionsCan you give me an example of a time that ________ did d? (Thi ill dd h d ’ did not succeed? (This will address the student’s resilience)Can you tell me what did after not doing so Can you tell me what _________ did after not doing so well? (This will address the student’s ability to self-advocate)
Handout II: Supporting Documentationpp g
Non-cognitive QuestionsAsk for examples that demonstrates the applicant is:
Persistent; Willing to take appropriate academic risks;Demonstrating a love of learning; or Demonstrating a love of learning; or Working to potential.
DISCUSSIONDISCUSSION
BRYAN G NANCEBRYAN G. NANCEASSOCIATE DIRECTOR JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITYJOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITYOFFICE OF ADMISSIONSBALTIMORE MARYLANDBALTIMORE, MARYLANDJHU.EDU/[email protected]@
(410) 516-4552
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