Proposed changes to Indiana’s high school graduation requirements won’t meet Purdue University’s standards for admission, President Mung Chiang wrote in a letter to state education officials last week.
Indiana’s State Board of Education green-lighted an overhaul to high school graduation requirements in March, eliminating traditional diplomas and emphasizing vocational training and flexibility over traditional academic benchmarks; the new diplomas would not require students to take the ACT or SAT, for instance.
Chiang said the proposed diploma standards don’t meet Purdue’s admissions criteria for math, social studies, lab science or world languages. Forty percent of Purdue students are Indiana residents, according to university data.
“Not all students will attend college. However, all students should clearly understand college admission requirements and be offered the coursework needed to be admitted to and succeed in college,” Chiang wrote. “Because we know success in college begins with rigor in the high school curriculum, we respectfully ask that you consider an enrollment seal aligned with the requirements for competitive applications to Indiana’s R1 institutions.”
A final revised proposal for new diplomas will be presented to the state education board in September.
