UW–Madison’s Taylor Odle, an assistant professor in the School of Education’s Department of Educational Policy Studies, was recently featured on PBS Wisconsin’s “Here & Now” program to discuss his research on direct admission programs and their role in boosting student enrollment in college.
Direct admission is a college access initiative that offers students automatic admission to participating universities based on their academic records, such as GPA and completed coursework, rather than requiring them to go through a traditional application process. Wisconsin high school students are now eligible for direct admission to several Universities of Wisconsin institutions through the Direct Admit Wisconsin and Wisconsin Guarantee programs.
Odle, who conducts national research on direct admission, explained that by simplifying the college application process, these programs can have a measurable impact. “If we implement programs like direct admission that cut their way through that red tape and say, ‘Hey, we know that you’re admissible — tell us when you want to come to campus because we want you to be here.’ Surprisingly, more people show up on campus when we make it easier for them to do so,” he said.
Odle stressed the importance of pairing admission offers with financial information. “We think it’s critical because it changes the message from ‘there’s a spot for you on campus’ to ‘there’s a spot for you on campus, and there are resources to help you afford it.’”
Direct admission programs, Odle noted, are particularly designed to reduce barriers for students who might otherwise struggle with the college application process. “Many students who are showing up — whether they’re students who weren’t originally born in the U.S. or students of color, students from very rural backgrounds, students from low income families — those students face a lot of barriers in navigating that college application process,” he said.
“Direct admission in many ways is designed for them. It eliminates those barriers completely and says, ‘Hey, you’ve done a really great job academically. There is a place for you on campus.’”
Watch the full segment on PBS Wisconsin.