Introductions were made since new member George Yeboah was present, as well as 1 guest. Sumner provided a brief report from the just conclude meeting of the Board of Trustees (specifically the Committee on Student Services which oversees the Offices of Admission and Financial Aid).

The meeting came to order shortly after noon. Joining the Committee was James Onwuachi, Grinnell College Class of 1995 and new Associate Dean of Admission and Coordinator of Multicultural Admission at the College. James had read in the S&B of the Committee's recent decision to create an SAT/ACT mathematics minimum guideline for marginal applicants for admission and asked if he could discuss the guideline with the Committee. James had not yet read the considerable data collected for and by the Committee during the last academic year in preparation of the guideline, so the Committee filled in him as best we could given our time limitations. A lively discussion followed whereby Committee members tried to help James understand why the guideline was created, and James tried to help the Committee understand why a guideline might hurt our efforts to enroll more students of color. He mentioned some of his GC fellow students who graduated from the College after entering with low SAT/ACT mathematics scores, and his belief that perceptive interviewers can help the College make good admission decisions (when coupled with all of the other information collected for each applicant). It was agreed to share with James the data collected last year and to look at how many applicants in recent years might have been affected by the guideline had it been in place at the time of their application. It was also agreed to revisit this topic at our next meeting.

(Since the Oct. 7 meeting several Committee members met with James and with each other about this topic and James has been able to access the data collected last year. Professors Cunningham and Swartz discovered an error in the guideline approved in May; the SAT mathematics minimum should be 450 rather than the 500 Sumner included in the guideline, an error not caught at the time by any Committee members. When James learned of the corrected 450 minimum he suggested the issue is resolved and need not be revisited. Sumner subsequently changed the guideline numbers to 450).

It was agreed that the Committee would discuss at its Dec. meeting the College's polices regarding need-blind admission of international students and financial aid/scholarships for them. Eric Staab, the Associate Dean of Admission and Coordinator of International Admission, will lead that discussion.

The meeting concluded shortly after 1 PM.

AGENDA FOR NOV. 4, 2002, MEETING:
Wrap-up of Oct. 7 discussion regarding the new SAT/ACT mathematics guideline
Admission of College employees to degree status
Discussion of market research results in the context of the College's new Mission Statement and desire to deliver the most accurate messages to prospective students and their families.

-Jim Sumner

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