A four-year pilot project to boost enrollment of first-generation, low-income and minority Delawareans by making admissions tests optional is showing signs of success, University of Delaware administrators told members of the Faculty Senate at its December meeting.

In the three years since UD made SAT or ACT scores optional for in-state applicants, enrollment of students who have historically been under-represented on campus rose from 600 in fall of 2016 to 722 this fall, said Douglas Zander, executive director of admissions. Enrollment of low-income students in general climbed from 1,284 to 1,521.

At the same time, these “test-optional” students lag the general student population by some key academic measures. Among students in 2016 who submitted admissions test scores, 91.2% made it through to fall 2017, compared with 86.5% of “test optional” students. For the second cohort of “test optional” students, the first-year completion rate strengthened to 89.3%.

“We are seeing positive progress,” Zander told the Senate, which will ultimately decide whether to continue the project. “The second cohort is doing better than the first. And both cohorts are doing significantly better than national averages for students generally.”

Test-optional students posted a first-year GPA of 2.58 in fall 2017, compared with 2.86 for students who submitted test scores. The next year’s class of test-optional freshmen posted a GPA of 2.68.

“Can we do better? Sure, and we are already seeing stronger results with each cohort as we learn from the process,” said Zander, who urged the Senate to extend the pilot another four years so that students can fully benefit from support programs that are evolving to meet the need. Graduation rates will be the ultimate test, he noted.

In other business, the Senate heard from Provost Robin Morgan, who said that the search for the dean of UD’s new Graduate College is underway, and that finalists will come to campus in the first weeks of spring semester.

A new UD council, co-chaired by faculty member Chris Williams and Sustainability Manager Michelle Bennett, is working on a University-wide sustainability plan that will help move the entire campus toward better practices, Morgan said. The council’s goal is to assess current practices and establish a cohesive, comprehensive sustainability initiative that involves students, faculty and staff.

Faculty Senate also heard an update on Main Campus maintenance efforts, which are now focused on “mission critical” facilities like the aging research labs along The Green. Funding has been boosted to rehabilitate several buildings, including Sharp Lab, Evans Hall and Spencer Lab. In total, $36 million a year is being spent on Main Campus, excluding the ongoing work at the Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus.

The next building to open at STAR will be the Ammon Pinizzotto Biopharmaceutical Innovation Center in 2020, followed by the FinTech building in 2022. Renovations at Worrilow Hall on South Campus should be done in August 2020, and an addition to Drake Lab is set to be completed in 2021, according to John Long, UD’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Plans for STAR now also include a hotel/conference center and housing facilities. A date for demolition of the Christiana Towers—as well as a redevelopment plan for the site—remains undetermined, he said. Senate members raised concerns that pedestrian crossings between STAR and University buildings on the other side of Del. 896 seem inadequate to cope with the growth.

“I will certainly bring that up with the appropriate folks and ask if we can take a look at that,” Long said.

Senate business

In its final meeting of the fall semester, the Faculty Senate approved revisions to the master of arts degree in communication, the master of arts degree in strategic communication and the doctorate in physical therapy.

The next regular meeting of the Faculty Senate is scheduled Feb. 10.

Editor's note: Complete minutes of this meeting will be posted on the University Faculty Senate website.