Kent State’s Faculty Senate voted to waive standardized testing requirements for future Kent State applicants at their Monday, Feb. 8 meeting. 

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the university paused ACT and SAT test requirements in favor of holistic review, looking at applicants based on factors such as GPA, courses taken in high school and more according to the Kent undergraduate admissions page. 

“We recognized that many students were having difficulty taking a standardized test so availability of tests just weren’t as available, both for ACT and SAT,” said Sean Broghammer, Ph.D., associate vice president for enrollment management, admissions. “We had a one year process that allowed us to make Kent State test-optional for the Fall 2021 cycle.”

The Faculty Senate’s vote solidifies Kent State’s test-optional status indefinitely.

Kent State is not alone in its decision, a number of universities statewide opted to suspend testing scores as admissions requirements for the Fall 2021 cycle, according to Cleveland.com. Some universities, such as Ohio University, have also made the decision to turn their temporary suspensions related to ACT and SAT testing into a more permanent admission guideline. This is a trend that is being seen in admissions processes throughout the country, said U.S. News and World Report. 

Prior to the pandemic, Kent State’s Honors College required the ACT or SAT for admission. Since the recent changes made by the university for general admission, the program also decided to create new plans to accommodate students in light of the pandemic.

“They actually have opened up Honors applications for new students with above, I believe it was a 3.7 GPA, and then Honors implemented two short essay questions,” Broghammer said. “And so students were able to apply … and then they were also evaluated holistically by the Honors program.”

Looking ahead, Broghammer said he believes the admission process of students based on the new requirements hasn’t changed and they still aim to evaluate students “based on their potential at Kent State.” 

“As a campus, we were trying to evaluate different ways that students often feel that barriers may exist,” Broghammer said. “By going to a test-optional policy, it really allows us to better consider students and their individual talents, and again what they can contribute to our campus. So it’s really about access and providing a greater opportunity for students where they’re at.”

Alexandria Manthey contributed to the reporting in this story. 

Emma Andrus covers administration. Contact them at [email protected]. 

Alexandria Manthey is a TV2 Reporter. Contact them at [email protected].