Editorial: Seeing beyond the numbers

Sunday, July 22, 2007 | 1:19 a.m.

For more than four decades UNLV was the only four-year institution of higher learning in Southern Nevada. Because high school graduates here faced such a limited choice for attending college locally, the admission standard was modest compared with public colleges ' in other states.

But when another four-year school, Nevada State College, opened in Henderson, offering choice for higher education, UNLV officials and the Board of Regents felt the timing was right to increase the standard for admission.

Last year students were required to have achieved a grade-point average of 2.75 - equivalent to a B-minus - in high school for admission to UNLV, up from 2.50.

As predicted by critics of the change, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, the higher standard has resulted in markedly fewer admissions of minorities.

This is a big concern for any university, but especially at UNLV, where diversity is already low. UNLV President David Ashley was so concerned about the drop in minority admissions that he intends to ask the Board of Regents to delay a planned second phase of the heightened admission standard until 2009. The plan had been to require a 3.0 GPA by 2008.

This would give the university time to discuss how to raise its academic standards while also raising its diversity. "We think this (the GPA increase) is a long-term part of UNLV achieving its mission," Ashley told Las Vegas Sun reporter Christina Littlefield. "However, it cannot be at the disadvantage of any group."

We agree and we hope the Board of Regents grants a delay. The truth is that more than just numbers need to be considered when admitting students to a university.

Many diverse students, for example, have had to contend with socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Often they have shown more determination and academic potential in achieving a C than have students without disadvantages in achieving an A. Their struggles to overcome personal hardships should not be left out of the equation when applying to college.