<p><<<this bill=“” is=“” going=“” to=“” hurt=“” ut’s=“” diversity=“” and=“” result=“” in=“” more=“” stepford=“” clones=“” from=“” suburbs=“” like=“” plano=“” overrunning=“” the=“” school.=“”>>></this></p>
<p>Not necessarily true. I believe it will enable UT to maintain a certain level of diversity while also make sure that the student body meets a certain level of academic qualification.</p>
<p>Stepford clones? Interesting comment from a fraternity boy…</p>
<p>how bout they make it a top5% rule…you think that’ll help anything?</p>
<p>I and others have said before that UT has been manipulating the numbers and y’all and the legislature are buying it. UT has it’s nose bent out of shape because of Hopwood. The 81% is closer to 70%. The true statement is 81% OF TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES ADMITTED TO UT FRESHMAN CLASS, not the entire freshman class. Top make matters worse, the freshman class has been reduced every year for at least a decade just so they could eventually get to the point they could put of pie charts showing whatever they wanted. Y’all didn’t believe me before so here’s the El Paso Times: </p>
<p>"But some lawmakers said UT Austin has aggravated the problem by reducing the number of freshmen it accepts each year.</p>
<p>Lawmakers said the university has voluntarily reduced the size of its freshman class by 1,200 students since 2002. </p>
<p>“UT Austin has created its own crisis under the top 10 percent,” said state Rep. Armando “Mando” Martinez, D-Weslaco. "</p>
<p>[Bill</a> sets University of Texas at Austin bar at top 8% for admission - El Paso Times](<a href=“http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_12425454?source=rss_emailed]Bill”>http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_12425454?source=rss_emailed)</p>
<p>I wouldn’t blame UT for trying to reduce its size. It’s been overcrowded! That’s one of the main reasons that have turned off many top students and made them look elsewhere.</p>
<p>UT profs I’ve spoken to said to follow the money. UT wants to enroll more oos and foreign students because they’re the ones paying the higher tuitions, not Texas students.</p>
<p>No, you haven’t researched this. They have reduced the size of the freshman class but have increased the size of the other classes. It’s all a numbers game against the Top 10%. UT has plenty of land around Austin they have yet to utilize. Again, no development and overcrowding falls in line with their argument.</p>
<p>On top of financial reasons, more OOS and foreign students will definitely improve the diversity of the student body and increase UT’s visibility, making the university a more attractive destination for top students. </p>
<p>Don’t forget that when we talk about brain drain, we don’t talk only about those qualified non-Top 10% who are “forced” to go out of state, but also the Top 1-5% who don’t find UT attractive enough because it’s too homogeneous due to the fact that almost everyone is from Texas.</p>
<p><<<no, you=“” haven’t=“” researched=“” this.=“” they=“” have=“” reduced=“” the=“” size=“” of=“” freshman=“” class=“” but=“” increased=“” other=“” classes.=“” it’s=“” all=“” a=“” numbers=“” game=“” against=“” top=“” 10%.=“” ut=“” has=“” plenty=“” land=“” around=“” austin=“” yet=“” to=“” utilize.=“” again,=“” no=“” development=“” and=“” overcrowding=“” falls=“” in=“” line=“” with=“” their=“” argument.=“”>>></no,></p>
<p>Share your findings from your research with us, please. As far as I know, the overall size of the student body has decreased as well.</p>
<p>And when you talk about a school’s capacity, it’s not just land or buildings. It’s also faculty, staff, etc.</p>
<p>Seriously, when did college become so bound to the trendy word of the decade “diversity”? </p>
<p>Isn’t the point of college to offer a quality education that provides the skills to achieve a fullfilling and prosperous future?? If I read one more person saying they should do something to “improve the diversity” I may gag. Let’s improve EDUCATION and I’m sure all religions/backgrounds will want to attend!</p>
<p>It’s because it’s easier to “create diversity” by admitting more unqualified students rather than tackling the underlying social issues that cause those segments of the population to do worse compared to other segments. Many people feel good about themselves when they support diversity programs, but in reality they don’t do anything to address the actual issues about why the inequality exists in the first place.</p>
<p>Diversity improves the quality of education! You learn about different perspectives from different cultures, religions, etc., brought together into a university environment.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t call admitting more unqualified students an effort to create diversity. To me, it’s more of an effort to provide opportunities to the wrong people. There are other better ways to create diversity and this is what I believe UT is trying to get to.</p>
<p>Thanks for an interesting perspective, Nunya! It makes a lot of sense. If Texas is forced to admit freshmen on a single factor, and they feel it is hampering their ability to build the best student body they can, then choke off the freshman admissions and fill your roll with transfers that you can evaluate freely. It is only rational. It also explains how so many kids are successfully transferring into UT after spending a year at OOS public universities.</p>
<p>And goldtx makes a good point, too. The top 5% - at least at competitive High Schools in Texas - are more likely to look OOS. Based on Power’s letter, it is the top 5% that really outperform other students in UT - on GPA, anyway.</p>
<p>when do we find out if one of them passes?</p>
<p>It doesn’t look good, but whoosh… good thing they had time to declare “Monarch butterfly week”. </p>
<p>goldtx…when my son goes to college it will be MAINLY to learn about engineering or one of the sciences…the primary purpose will NOT be to learn about "different perspectives from different cultures, religions, etc., brought together into a university environment. "</p>
<p>Again, if you provide quality education people from all backgrounds and religions will come to partake of it. To throw a bunch of folks together for the sake of diversity is just ridiculous. That’s the purpose of a social club, not a university.</p>
<p>You definitely have the rights to decide on what you think is best for your son. </p>
<p>The following article may enlighten you a little bit, though.</p>
<p>[Bill</a> Gates - How to Keep America Competitive - washingtonpost.com](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/23/AR2007022301697.html]Bill”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/23/AR2007022301697.html)</p>
<p>goldtx - Have you ever set foot on campus? UT is the most diverse university in the state. Did you not know the Top 10% rule was to create more diversity? </p>
<p>The Lake Travis HS and other 5A HS students in the top 11% who didn’t get in won’t make it more diverse. They won’t make it a better institution. They won’t make it more competitive. But if they must place blame on someone else rather than themselves, then they should ask why the class reduction and if they would have been accepted in those 1200. </p>
<p>No other university is complaining about the Top 10%. Just UT. UT has complained since day one to the legislature. Now, after all these years and untold tax dollars wasted and time lost that could have been spent on other more important matters, the legislature is considering an extra special super duper with sparklies bill just for UT. But don’t take my word for it. Don’t take the legislature’s word for it. Don’t take others who have posted words for it. Perhaps you won’t take UT’s word for it but here’s the findings that have been posted several times, specifically the Statistical Handbooks and the Top 10% Reports.</p>
<p>[Admissions</a> Research: Office of Information Management " Analysis Reports - UT Austin](<a href=“http://www.utexas.edu/student/admissions/research/oir_reports.html]Admissions”>http://www.utexas.edu/student/admissions/research/oir_reports.html)</p>
<p>rawkfist - you can find out everything about the bill’s progress as well as see your legislature live at </p>
<p>[Texas</a> Legislature Online](<a href=“http://www.legis.state.tx.us%5DTexas”>http://www.legis.state.tx.us)</p>
<p>nunya</p>
<p>You compared UT to other universities in Texas. UT is nothing like other public schools in TX. Its peers, the schools it should be compared to, are the other top publics around the nation. </p>
<p>Of course no other university in Texas has complained about the top ten law. No other TX university has been truly impacted by it yet, although A&M is approaching it. UT has the faculty, the facilities and the resources to be among the best public universities in the nation. It is already, but how much better could it be if the student body was also among the best? </p>
<p>The size reduction has been mentioned. UT is huge still, and does not need to expand. The student body was too large and should never have been expanded to that size to begin with. In order to provide the best education with the resources available, the student body size needed to be reduced. In my opinion, it could use even more reduction. </p>
<p>The top ten law was put into effect in order to increase diversity after the university was no longer able to use affirmative action policies previously used. It has increased diversity, not only racially but also geographically. This is a good thing and no one is arguing against it. But in the time since the top ten law was put into place, the laws have changed, allowing UT to use different policies in order to achieve levels of diversity. Doing away with the top ten law does not mean doing away with diversity. </p>
<p>You mention that those excluded from quality high schools won’t make UT a better institution than those students from the top ten, no matter how horrible the high school. This makes no sense to me. There is a huge range of differences in high schools. Those students who are best prepared should be the ones offered admission. The students who have challenged themselves with the best courses available at better schools are penalized now under the current system in favor of someone who didn’t challenge themselves and was “lucky” enough to live in an inferior school district. Is this the student body you are praising? </p>
<p>I see you have posted the stat sheet, comparing, among other things, the top ten percent students to the rest. Remember, stats will tell you whatever you want them to tell you, depending on how they are presented. I assume you posted it in support of how wonderful the world is when filled with top tenners. That same stat sheet also shows the comparison of GPAs and test scores by gender and race. Using your criteria of how it improves the university to have all top ten percenters, the logical conclusion is then to have the university filled with Asians and women, since they have the highest stats on that sheet. This being Texas, we may not fill all the spots with Asians, so then the white students are admitted, again with the preference for women first. Under your system of using these stats to see who should be admitted, there is no room left for anyone from the other groups. Sorry to all your Hispanics and African Americans and anyone else left out. </p>
<p>Out of curiosity, are you a top ten percenter? I’m a transfer who attended high school out of state, so I have no personal experience with the high school rules. I have taken classes at UT with some students who have been less than impressive academically. Out of curiosity, I would fish out whether or not they were top ten. So far, they all were. YMMV, but that has been my experience.</p>