At this time of year, college recruiters are processing the flood of applications from potential students. But not at Mississippi Valley State University.
Instead, Mississippi Valley officials and their counterparts at Jackson State and Alcorn State universities are wondering what will happen to student enrollments as tougher admission standards are implemented this fall in the aftermath of the U.S. vs. Fordice desegregation ruling.
Under a 1995 ruling by U.S. District Judge Neal Biggers Jr. in the Fordice case, any Mississippi high school graduate with at least a 3.2 grade point average can gain automatic admission to any of the state's eight public universities.
But gaining entrance into a state-supported university won't be so simple for others.
Those with at least a 2.5 average will have to score 16 or higher on the American College Test (ACT) or 650 on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT). Students with a 2.0 grade average must score 18 or higher on the ACT or 740 on the SAT, according to Charles Pickett, associate commissioner for academic affairs of Mississippi's Institution of Higher Learning.
Students not meeting those requirements are expected to attend a nine-week summer developmental program in math, reading comprehension, writing and study skills -- or enroll in one of the state's 16 community colleges.
Controversy and Confusion
If the new standards had been in place in 1994-95, more than 40 percent of Mississippi Valley students would have fallen into the state's new "conditional admission category," says Dr. Roy C. Hudson, vice president for administration at Mississippi Valley.
"Many Black high school kids in this state have borderline scores, lack the academic units they need, lack motivation and come from low socioeconomic backgrounds," adds Hudson, a product of Mississippi's public school system. "All it takes is one hurdle for them to walk away. College to them is very iffy. For them to hold out for nine weeks during the summer to see if they will get into college ... it's asking a lot.
