Purdue University’s president says Indiana’s proposed changes to high school diplomas fail to meet the school’s admissions standards in math, social studies and world languages.
in a Letter sent to the state’s top educational leaders last week, President Mung Chiang said several diploma changes do not meet Big Ten university admissions criteria.
High school curriculum is an important factor in college admission, Chiang said in the letter.
“Not all students will attend college,” Chiang wrote. “However, all students should clearly understand college admission requirements and be offered the coursework necessary to be admitted and succeed in college.”
A little less than half of the 8,568 students who enroll for the first time in the first year Fall 2023 Students are local students at Purdue’s West Lafayette campus, excluding international students.
The Indiana Department of Education and the Higher Education Commission could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
The letter from one of the state’s top research universities comes as IDOE seeks revisions to its initial diploma plan. The department closed its first wave of public comment Tuesday.
Education Secretary Katie Jenner previously said a revised draft of the diplomas would be made public in August after the State Board of Education considers it.
A 2023 state law requires the state board to adopt new requirements by the end of the year. The department pushed back its timeline by a few months but expects to meet the deadline.
“We will not break the law as a State Board of Education,” Jenner said.
Students will no longer be required to take the SAT or ACT to graduate — both standardized tests are highly recommended for admission to Purdue and other state universities. Chiang said that’s one of several factors that could affect students seeking admission to Purdue.
Purdue asked the Department of Education to create an enrollment seal that would align with “competitive application” requirements at other research universities in the state.
Under the department’s plan, the state would stop offering most existing diplomas (such as Core 40, honors and associate’s degrees) by the class of 2028.
‘A disaster for students’
Many families and community members have expressed concern about the dissolution of the current honors diploma.
Munster school leaders spoke out against several parts of the proposal, specifically plans to eliminate the honors diploma.
“Losing the academic honors diploma will be a disaster for our students who want to pursue higher education,” said John Doherty, president of the district’s school board.
Doherty, who spoke at a public hearing on diplomas on Tuesday, asked whether the state board sought input from the Higher Education Commission.
Chiang said in the letter that Purdue students who completed an honors diploma performed better than those who earned the remaining diplomas, such as Core 40.
Those honors students were also more likely to have a higher first-semester GPA and a higher retention rate, according to 2017 data cited by Chiang.
Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn (D-Fishers), who hosted informational events in her Hamilton County district, said parents and educators have shared a “huge amount of concerns” about the new model.
Garcia Wilburn called for the state’s honors diploma to be reinstated in the next draft. She said the laws passed by lawmakers do not call for a complete overhaul of the high school diploma system.
“They just asked him to add a diploma based on job training,” Garcia Wilburn said.
Jenner said the new rule is expected to be approved by December, but more work will need to be done after that.
“It’s going to take months of working with educators, with students, with parents and families, with stakeholders, with the business sector, some of whom have already heard today, to develop the guidance and support that we need,” Jenner said. “The systems that we need.”
Rachel Fradette is WFYI Statehouse’s education reporter. Contact Rachel at rfradette@wfyi.org.
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