Admissions

University Admissions & Placement Update Summer & Fall 2021 First-Time Freshmen

In response to the rapidly evolving impact on secondary and postsecondary education of the current covid-19 pandemic, the Board of Regents approved emergency guidelines for admissions and placement due to the cancellation or postponement of standardized tests whose scores are used in determining student eligibility.

Developed in close consultation with the Louisiana Department of Education, system chief academic officers and the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Aid (LOSFA), the updates address alternative criteria for placement into college courses and admission to postsecondary institutions. Current minimum admission criteria do not require ACT scores for admissions only for Math and English placement.

Students who have met the Regents Core and GPA (Flagship: 3.0; Statewide: 2.5 and Regional: 2.0), but have no ACT or SAT score on file to demonstrate proficiency in English and Math may meet subscore admissions or placement criteria by:

• Successfully completing postsecondary departmental exams and/or placement assessments at the institution where they plan to enroll, (see table below) OR
• Successfully completing placement assessments offered by community colleges and submitting scores to the institution where they plan to enroll (see table below) OR
• In keeping with Regents’ Minimum Admissions Criteria policy, institutions can still evaluate for other factors in addition to minimum admissions requirements. Institutions with applicants who have not met the minimum test score requirements, or have no scores available as required by the Board of Regents Minimum Admissions Criteria for First-Time Freshmen, may rely on other factors, such as trends in academic performance, rigor of coursework, challenging high school curriculum, class rank, special talents or quality of extracurricular activities, to determine final admission ;OR
• Enrolling in co-requisite support in course(s) where the student is deficient

Incoming students from non-English speaking countries who do not have access to the TOEFL or IELTS English proficiency exams (per Academic Affairs 2.18) due to disruptions caused by covid-19, may meet English proficiency requirements through the Duolingo English exam if accepted by the institution. Scores on the Duolingo English exam must be concorded and comparable to the current TOEFL and IELTS minimum scores needed to indicate proficiency.