Admission Entrance Examination Scores

Admission to a USG institution is governed by a variety of criteria and procedures. The policies and language regarding the evaluation of entrance examination test scores as part of the admissions process is defined by the BOR Policy Manual  and USG Academic and Student Affairs Handbook .  The OIAC recently began an enterprise-wide review of the manner in which institutions apply these policies, and is working to evaluate the level of compliance with the current policies at all USG schools.  Our review focused on the following:

“Applicants classified as true freshmen or true freshmen/limited admission, applying to a baccalaureate program, from the Fall 2009 to Spring 2012 semesters.”

Our review analyzed the application decisions made for each of these applicants as compared to the minimum acceptable entrance examination scores for the institution.  While there are programs and other applicable policies that mitigate these criteria, as a general rule, the following entrance examination scores are necessary for admission to the various classifications of USG institutions: 

Some institutions have received approval from the Board of Regents to accept applicants without entrance examination scores – however, any student admitted as a regular freshman who does not otherwise provide entrance examination scores exempting them from placement testing is required to undergo assessment through the three COMPASS tests.  Each of these tests has a minimum score for admission, and another minimum score to exempt learning support coursework.  Current policy states that any student who does not receive a passing score on any of the three COMPASS examinations is not eligible for admission to any USG institution.  Similarly, any student who tests into all three learning support courses is not eligible for admission to any USG institution.

All institutions are encouraged to carefully review the admission policies specified by the BOR Policy Manual, the USG Academic and Student Affairs Handbook, the materials found on the USG Student Affairs “USG Faculty and Staff Resources” Web site, and their Institution’s admissions policies.  The policies are intended to ensure that applicants accepted into the USG system will have the opportunity to demonstrate success as a result of the academic infrastructure available to them.  Maintaining a supportive and appropriately controlled academic environment allows these students to achieve their educational goals in an efficient manner, and continues the USG’s work towards satisfying the goals of the Complete College Georgia initiative.​