LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Spalding University announces that it has changed its undergraduate admissions policy by making it optional instead of required for students to include ACT and SAT test scores when they apply.
The change, which was approved this month by Spalding’s Undergraduate Admissions Committee, makes Spalding the first four-year nonprofit university in Louisville to adopt a test-optional policy for undergraduate admissions. The university claims this move is in line with a trend in higher education.
Beginning immediately with applications for the fall 2020 first-year class, students with at least a 3.00 cumulative high school grade-point average may choose not to submit an ACT or SAT score when they apply to Spalding.
The university believes the test-optional policy expands student access to higher education and is consistent with its social-justice mission.The university believes that scholarly research has shown that other factors, like a student’s motivation, high school GPA and having the appropriate support are also strong predictors of academic success in college.
“As a diverse community of learners, Spalding is proud to be the first institution of its kind in Louisville to adopt a test-optional undergraduate admissions policy, and we are excited to provide students interested in attending Spalding with an additional means to show they have the qualifications to succeed in college,” the faculty members of the Undergraduate Admissions Committee said in a joint statement. “We have to assume there have been some students without high ACT and SAT scores who have been reluctant to apply because they know (those scores are) a barrier, and they don’t even bother with the process. Otherwise, they are capable students who we would like to see apply. A test-optional application eliminates that barrier and empowers many students with good grades to know that regardless of a standardized test score, they can still attend college and thrive when they get there.”
Students still have the option of submitting ACT or SAT scores when they apply to Spalding, which grants automatic admission to high school students who have a 2.5 or higher cumulative GPA along with an ACT score of at least 20 or an SAT score of at least 950.
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