Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
    Date: 2/8/01
      Contact:                           Christina Chapple   47

PRESIDENT STRESSES HIGH STANDARDS
     HAMMOND   Southeastern Louisiana University is voluntarily trading its reputation for
fast growth for one of increasing quality, according to President Sally Clausen.
     Eyeing spring 2001 enrollment figures, which show that 13,737 students have enrolled at
the university this semester, Clausen said that, as expected, Southeastern's new quality admission
standards are impacting the student headcount. The figures reflect an approximately 3 percent
drop in enrollment as compared to spring 2000, the last semester Southeastern's traditional
"open" admission's policy was in effect.
     "We knew when we self-imposed admission standards last semester that initially we
would have smaller numbers," Clausen said. "However, because of the new standards, our focus
now is quality, not quantity."
     Southeastern changed its admissions policy from open to screened admissions in fall
2000. Under the new admission standards, entering freshmen are required to have either an ACT
composite score of at least 20, rank in the upper 50 percent of their high school class, or have a
high school grade point average of at least a 2.0 in core academic courses. Also under the new
admissions guidelines, undergraduate transfer students with less than 12 credit hours must meet
the same standards as entering freshmen. Those with 12 hours or more must have a 2.0 grade
point average on all transfer work and must be in good academic standing with the institution
from which they are transferring. 
     Southeastern's goals in imposing admission standards were to attract more academically
prepared students and to raise the retention and graduation rates, Clausen said. "Students who do
not immediately qualify to enter Southeastern are still being served," she stressed. "Through
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articulation agreements and strong working relationships with our community and technical
colleges, these students are being routed to the places designed to give them better opportunities
for success. As a result, Southeastern is receiving students who are better prepared, will graduate
sooner and will become wage earning citizens or advance to graduate school as early as possible. 
     "It's a win-win situation for both students and society," Clausen said.
     "We expect enrollment to level off in the next couple of years," she said, "but we do not
expect to lower standards. We anticipate implementing even higher standards in the future."
     Broken down by classification, spring 2001 enrollment includes 4,005 freshmen, 2,623
sophomores, 2,183 juniors, 3,143 seniors, and 1,783 graduate students. Tangipahoa Parish
continues to be Southeastern's top feeder parish, with a total of 3,691 students from the parish.
The other top parishes sending students to Southeastern include St. Tammany, 2,750; East Baton
Rouge, 1,958; Livingston, 1,652; Jefferson, 735, and Washington, 553.
                             -SLU-
Press release available online at www.selu.edu/NewsEvents/PublicInfoOffice/newsp01.htm