Submitted: Virginia should become independent

[super.nova]

<p>I note, with some irony, that this issue is not confined to UVa.</p>

<p>

Currently, Virginia Tech offers guaranteed acceptance into the College of Life Sciences and the College of Engineering for all VCCS and Richard Bland College students who complete the designated requirements with a 3.0 GPA or higher. Dean said Tech is “currently in discussion with VCCS on guaranteed admissions into other colleges,” in which they hope to have completed by this academic year. </p>

<p>The University of Virginia has already made an agreement to guarantee admittance into its Liberal Arts and Sciences College to any VCCS student who completes credentials with a 3.4 GPA or higher. A student with a 3.7 or higher is guaranteed admission into every academic program of William and Mary except education, said Tech’s University Registrar and chief transfer officer, Wanda Dean. George Mason University offers guaranteed admissions to VCCS students who hold a 3.0 or higher and Radford University is on its way to signing an agreement, says Herndon.</p>

<p>Amy Widner, public relations coordinator for Undergraduate Admissions, reports that “for fall 2006, (Tech) admitted 825 transfer students, with 415 of them coming from VCCS.” </p>

<p>Most schools have or will create a designated quota goal for a specific number of VCCS students to be accepted, Herndon said. While Herndon assures that “the intention (of Virginia state policy on transfers) is not to give an advantage to VCCS students but to give options and promote higher education,” students who started out at four-year universities hold differing opinions on the matter. </p>

<p>“I believe this policy puts current Virginia Tech students at a disadvantage. I came into Virginia Tech as a university studies major, with the intent of completing the course requirements for admittance into the College of Engineering,” said Luke Birchenough, junior building construction major. “These courses were extremely rigorous, almost as if professors were trying to weed out students. Basically, I don’t think its fair that I had to take the tough classes at Tech while someone in the VCCS can get in taking a much easier route. This policy almost discourages a student from coming to Tech if they are not accepted to their program of choice. Why not just do the community college thing for two years, then have a guaranteed in?”

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<p><a href=“http://www.collegiatetimes.com/news/1/ARTICLE/8079/2006-11-28.html[/url]”>http://www.collegiatetimes.com/news/1/ARTICLE/8079/2006-11-28.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;