WASHINGTON

When it comes to admissions practices, the status quo has got to go. That was the core message of the American Council on Education's (ACE) latest status report highlighting progress in the growth of minority students and faculty on American campuses.

Released on September 22, ACE's sixteenth annual "Status Report on Minorities in Higher Education" urges colleges and universities to begin using nontraditional assessment measures to increase the number of minority students admitted to higher education institutions.

The report makes a detailed examination -- by race and ethnicity -- of high school completion and dropout rates, and trends in college participation, educational attainment, college enrollment, degrees conferred, and higher education employment.

"The year's annual status report reveals that we continue to make [progress] in expanding access and educational opportunities to all students. It also shows, however, that important changes still remain," said Dr. Stanley O. Ikenberry, president of ACE.

This year's report emphasizes that attacks on affirmative action demonstrate the need for ACE's sustained commitment to monitoring the progress of minorities in higher education.

"[E]fforts to dismantle affirmative action underscore the important role of this report in providing educators with annual information about access to -- and progress within -- higher education for African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, and American Indians. These trends illustrate the need for closer monitoring of trends in college participation, enrollment, and degree attainment among underrepresented groups," the report says.

The ACE report reveals that "students of color have experienced steady increases in college enrollment since the mid-1980s, but that the rate of growth has slowed in recent years."

The enrollment rate for students of color increased by 3.2 percent between 1995 and 1996, slightly higher than the 2.9-percent increase between 1994 and 1995. However, the 1995-96 gain fell short of the gains between 1993 and 1994 with its 4.6-percent increase, and between 1991 and 1992 with its increase of 7.1 percent, according to the report.

For faculty of color, the report also documented a measure of progress. The number of full-time minority faculty rose by 6.9 percent from 1993 to 1995. Among full professors -- who represent the elite of the professoriate -- the number of minority faculty increased by 6.7 percent while the White rate stayed roughly the same. Each of the four major ethnic minority groups had moderate gains in the ranks of full professors from 1993 to 1995, but minority faculty members achieved their most significant progress at the associate and assistant professor levels, according to the report.

African Americans, however, continue to have the lowest tenure rate among the four ethnic minority groups. Tenure rates for Black faculty fell slightly, from 61 percent in 1993 to 59 percent in 1995.

The special focus section on using nontraditional assessment measures in college admissions was prepared by Dr. William E. Sedlacek, professor of education and director of testing at the University of Maryland. The section examines the use of cognitive and noncognitive assessment variables in college admissions.

Cognitive variables -- such as quantitative and verbal skills -- are measured by standardized test scores and grades. Noncognitive variables -- such as self-esteem and leadership skills -- include a student's perceptions, motivation, and adaptability. These skills are not evaluated by traditional assessment techniques.

Sedlacek says that research has demonstrated that noncognitive variables can shed insight into an individual's ability to succeed in postsecondary programs, especially for women and students of color. The report argues that consideration of noncognitive variables in admission decisions likely would increase the numbers of ethnic minority students admitted to higher education institutions.

"Higher education institutions have a greater societal responsibility than to simply admit students who have the highest test scores and grades. Given the growing diversity of the U.S. population, postsecondary institutions must do a better job of educating the nation's diverse citizenry," Sedlacek says in the report.

COPYRIGHT 1998 Cox, Matthews & Associates