Admissions and Retention

1. The institution has an orderly and ethical program of admission which complies with the requirements of legislation concerning equality of educational opportunity. Its admission and retention policies and procedures are clear, consistent with its mission and purposes, and available to all students and prospective students through appropriate publications. It endeavors to develop a student body which as a whole is broadly representative of the population the institution wishes to serve.
2. Standards for admission ensure that student qualifications and expectations are compatible with institutional objectives. Individuals admitted demonstrate through their intellectual and personal qualifications a reasonable potential for success in the programs to which they are admitted. If the institution recruits and admits individuals with identified needs that must be addressed to assure their likely academic success, it applies appropriate mechanisms to address those needs so as to provide reasonable opportunities for that success. Such mechanisms receive sufficient support and are adequate to the needs of those admitted. The institution endeavors to integrate specifically recruited populations into the larger student body and to assure that they have similar academic experiences.
3. The institution with a policy of open admissions for undergraduates utilizes appropriate methods of evaluation to identify deficiencies and offers appropriate developmental or remedial support where necessary to prepare students for collegiate study. Such testing and remediation receive sufficient support and are adequate to serve the needs of students admitted.
4. If the institution accepts undergraduate transfer credit from other institutions, it applies policies and procedures which provide adequate safeguards to ensure that credit accepted reflects appropriate levels of academic quality and is applicable to the student's program. The institution does not erect barriers to the acceptance of transfer credit that are unnecessary to protect its academic quality and integrity, and it seeks to establish articulation agreements with institutions from which and to which there is a significant pattern of student transfer. Such agreements are made available to those students who are affected by them.
5. The institution accepts graduate credit in transfer only on a strictly limited basis to preserve the integrity of the degree awarded.
6. The evaluation of student learning or achievement and the award of credit are based upon clearly stated criteria that reflect learning objectives and are consistently and effectively enforced. They are appropriate to the degree level at which they are applied.
7. There is demonstrable academic content for all experiences for which credit is awarded. Credit awards are consistent with the course content. No credit toward graduation is awarded for pre-collegiate level or remedial work designed to prepare the student for collegiate study.
8. Credit for prior experiential or non-collegiate sponsored learning is awarded only at the undergraduate level. When credit is awarded on the basis of prior experiential or non-collegiate sponsored learning alone, student learning and achievement are demonstrated to be at least comparable in breadth, depth, and quality to the results of institutionally provided learning experiences. The policies and procedures for the award of credit for prior or experiential learning are clearly stated and available to affected students.
9. The institution specifies and publishes requirements for continuation in, termination from, or re-admission to its academic programs which are compatible with its educational purposes. Graduation requirements are clearly stated in appropriate publications and are consistently applied in the degree certification process. The degrees awarded accurately reflect student attainments.