Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | April 3, 2017 | Worcester Business Journal 9 Admissions," said the graduate deans and faculty members who were sur- veyed associated a variety of practices with the term holistic review, a term she said is borrowed from U.S. Supreme Court decisions related to fos- tering diversity in higher education. "'Holistic review' does not necessari- ly mean throwing out standardized test scores," said Kent, who is assistant vice president of communications, best practices, and advancement at CGS . But consensus among respondents is appropriate emphasis should be placed on factors like test scores and under- graduate transcripts, Kent said. For example, colleges and universities are getting away from the practice of using test score cutoffs to automatically elim- inate applicants who don't have certain grades or scores. Local schools drop testing Definitive data on the number of graduate schools requiring, or drop- ping, standardized testing is hard to come by, but a number of area schools advertise master's degree programs that do not require GRE or other test scores. Clark University, for example, does not require GRE scores for part-time appli- cants to master's degree programs, or GMAT scores for part-time MBA applicants. Framingham State University has test score waiver provi- sions for certain graduate programs, while Fitchburg State University no longer requires graduate testing for any programs. For Ryan Townsend, an MBA stu- dent at Anna Maria College, programs that did not require testing were more attractive when he was evaluating his graduate school options. He said he wanted to attend a program full of sea- soned professionals – not necessarily those who were able to get high scores on a standardized test. "I just don't think they're an effective tool for a graduate program," Townsend said. Sometimes, testing is required For applicants, standardized tests are not simply an obstacle to be overcome, said Roberta Kyle, dean of the Division of Graduate and Continuing Education at Worcester State University. For certain programs, Worcester State waives standardized testing requirements for graduate program applicants, but for programs that are accredited by outside organizations, such as the master of science in speech- language pathology, standardized test scores are vital. Kyle said students will need to pass exams for licensure upon graduating, so test-taking ability is important. Kyle said exams like the GRE give admissions teams something to refer to in measuring the strength of an appli- cant, other than a GPA. She said gradu- ate applicants may be out of college for 15 years and have lackluster transcripts but excellent GRE scores. A way to boost applications Easing up on admissions require- ments is one way that admissions teams may try to boost enrollment, but the need to recruit students must always be balanced against the need to uphold the integrity of the degree, Kyle said, adding the topic of stan- dardized testing warrants ongoing review. She's particularly concerned about testing data indicating cultural differ- ences impact test scores, as some pop- ulations have better access to test prep courses and materials than others. "It's good that people are always pushing the question," Kyle said. Academic transcripts .........................................................................................77% GRE, GMAT, LSAT scores ....................................................................................56% Letters of recommendation ................................................................................53% CAE, TOEFL scores (language tests) ...................................................................52% Testing factor While colleges and universities are focusing less on admissions testing, a 2016 survey of 540 graduate institutions showed GRE and other exam scores are still a big factor in the initial screening of applicants. However, in the final admissions decision phase, testing is not a significant factor. W Sam Quinones is a freelance journalist and author of DREAMLAND, the seminal book on America's opiate epidemic. Selected by Amazon as a Best Book of 2015, it has also received overwhelmingly positive reviews from Slate.com, Seattle Times, The Boston Globe, Entertainment Weekly and Bloomberg Business. A frequent guest on national news programs including NPR Morning Edition and PBS Newshour, Quinones spent several years with the LA Times, and is a veteran reporter on immigration, gangs, drug trafficking and the US border. Free and open to the public Light Refreshments For more information contact Elisabeth.Haddad@state.ma.us or Jill.Wooldridge@massmail.state.ma.us A Community Forum Presented by Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr. In 2015 there were 1,377 opioid deaths in Massachusetts with 219 of them in Worcester County. That number is expected to rise in 2016. A community wide understanding of how this epidemic grew is the key to turning the tide against it. Monday, April 10 @ 6pm The Auditorium at Worcester Technical High School 1 Skyline Drive, Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early, Jr. and the Central Mass Opioid Task Force presents award winning author SAM QUINONES, author of DREAMLAND: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic Initial screening % reporting "most important" factor Academic transcripts .........................................................................................70% Letters of recommendation ................................................................................68% Personal/research statement .............................................................................63% Interviews ..........................................................................................................52% Final admissions decision % reporting "most important" factor Source: Holistic Review in Graduate Admissions report, Council of Graduate Schools, 2016

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