THE CAMPUS ECHO
EXCELLENCE WITHOUT EXCUSE
Issue 29
NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY
Nov. 12,1993
’Chambers Looks Towards Future'
New SAT Standards May Improve NCCU's Image
By TERRI BOYKIN
Raising the average SAT score of in
coming freshmen to 900 by 1994 will be a
major step toward NCCU having the best,
most capable graduates in the country. Cham
bers said in an interview Tuesday.
Chambers emphasized that the new
standard is simply an average, not a minimum.
For example, the average SAT for this year’s
freshmen is 780, with a low of480 and a high
of 1340. Several other factors are considered
for admissions including high school GPA
and recommendations.
Chambers believes that raising the SAT
is necessary for a number of reasons, both to
better NCCU and because of changing state
standards.
The school has a commitment to turning
out a student who will be the best in the
country, so that the reputation of the school
will not be a barrier to future jobs or academic
advancement.
Chambers stated that "we cannot con
tinue to perpetuate a system that fails to do
this. We owe it to the students, faculty, staff,
and parents.” He is committed to creating the
leading undergraduate institution in the
country.
NCCU doesn’t have the best reputation
in the state, said Chambers. This has a great
effect on the school and its graduates. By
raising the SAT, NCCU shows that it is at
tracting the best quality students, and will
better its reputation among both employers
and graduate schools.
Chambers said he has known students
fromNCCU who graduated withaGPAof 3.5
and couldn’t get into graduate school because
of NCCU’s reputation. The same problem
occurs with employment opportunities.
School
Average
SAT (1993)
NCCU
780
Shaw
not available
FSU
810
NCA&T
821
UNC-Elizabeth
789
UNC-WS
743
UNC-CH
1122
NCSU
980-1150*
Duke
1260-1440*
*= middle 50%
Chambers said he wants to develop a student body
of the best capable students, and feels that recruiting the
best capable high school students is a major step in
achieving this goal.
There are new state requirements that are also
going to affect NCCU. The University of North
Carolina System will soon require graduation in four
years. Those who are still in school beyond the four years
will be charged one and a half times the regular tuition.
This means students will have to take 15 or more hours
a semester, and also means that state support for remedial
programs will be drying up.
Last year, NCCU had 71 percent of its freshmen in
eitherremedial math or English courses. The
time limit and resulting drop in funds for
remedial courses is another incentive to ac
cepting better prepared students.
When asked about the difference in
SAT scores among blacks and other groups,
and how that will affect the make-up of
Necu. Chambers said he believes that blacks
can do as well as any other group in the
SATs. He cited that test-taking skills, rather
than ability, are one of several factors for that
score. Average scores for blacks across the
nation are nearly 200points below whites for
1991.
Chambers said that this attitude that
black students won’t be able to meet the new
standard “assumes that black people can’t
compete. I don’t accept that assumption.”
He said that he wants to see NCCU
become the best school possible and doesn’t
feel that this means losing its culture.
Chambers acknowledged that the SAT
averages at Hillside (713) and Dmham High
School (663) are below the average he wants
for NCCU. Yet he said his commitment to
these schools as well as the entire state is to
provide an impetus to students to do their
best while still in high school. He repeated
that this average does not mean that NCCU is
closing its doors to those with a SAT below
900; this is simply an average.
Students who are here now can expect
some changes as well. There will be a higher
expectation for academic achievement in
current students. Chambers would like to see
more meaningful work experience by stu
dents through internships and summer jobs.
He is also bringing more opportunities for
See SAT, page 3
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