January 2016 Holistic Admissions in Graduate Education Virginia

January 2016

Holistic Admissions in Graduate Education

Virginia Tech

Identifying and recruiting talented individuals to pursue graduate degrees is a very

important function shared by the faculty and the Graduate School. The admission

screening process is critical to developing a diverse pool of well-qualified candidates for

consideration. High GPA, high test scores (e.g., GRE) and the reputation of the

university have been considered the primary factors in developing the pool and

establishing the ranking of applicants by many departments, especially those with a large

number of applicants. But this practice tends to cultivate a homogeneous pool while

excluding potentially qualified applicants, rather than identifying a broad pool of

qualified candidates using additional measures. Research shows that some qualified

individuals do not perform well on standardized tests, including individuals from diverse

backgrounds.

In order to increase diversity and inclusion within graduate education at VT, the Graduate

School has developed three initiatives in response to the InclusiveVT call for action:

holistic admissions, affirming environment for graduate education, and inclusive GLC.

Together, using these initiatives and other ongoing inclusion and diversity efforts, we can

recruit, retain, and graduate individuals who are prepared to work in a diverse and

inclusive global society.

To implement and realize holistic admissions in graduate education, the Graduate School

has taken the following steps:

1. Revised the application to Graduate School to include more information about the

applicants’ knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA, or success critical skills beyond

the cognitive skills). This includes the opportunity to provide brief descriptions

of the applicant’s leadership, research experience, community engagement,

integrity, and ability to overcome barriers.

2. Included additional questions about the rating of the applicant on such abilities as

communication, innovation and creativity, curiosity, teamwork, and integrity. In

addition to the required letter of recommendation, the referees can provide their

evaluation of the applicants’ skills and abilities in these areas.

3. Although not used specifically in the admissions screening process, the Graduate

School has implemented a post-admissions survey in which we ask (and legally

can ask) about additional life and personal factors so that we can identify

resources needed to provide an affirming environment for all.

By design, departments will be able to “sort” by the additional information and not just

rely on GPA and GRE to identify a pool of qualified candidates. Ranking by these

traditional criteria is discouraged but sorting by the new criteria of particular interest to

the Department is encouraged. Specifically, we will request that departments “screen in”

candidates using the KSA criteria beyond GPA and GRE. The process used by the

admissions committees to accomplish this goal will be determined at the departmental

level. Beginning in the spring ’16, within-college meetings will be held to discuss the

changes made to the application and letters of recommendation forms, to discuss the

implementation of holistic admissions, and to learn of holistic admission practices

already in place.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016 - Janice Austin contact us log off

LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL APPLICATION

INSTRUCTIONS

Please complete this form. This will serve as the letter of recommendation for this applicant. If you wish, you may attach a PDF-formatted file with any narrative you wish to

contribute about this student. Should you attach a file, we ask two things of you:

Even if you provide your contact information in the file you attach, please enter that information in this form as well. You will not be able to submit this form without your

contact information completed.

Please DO NOT MAIL a paper copy of this form or the file you attach. If it is necessary for us to have a paper copy, we will contact you at this email address:

[email protected].

FERPA ACCESS WAIVER

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, a student enrolled at Virginia Tech has access to his or her academic records. We comply with this law, while

still allowing the option of waiving the right to access letters of recommendation. In this case, the STUDENT HAS WAIVED this right to access the contents of this letter of

recommendation.

APPLICANT INFORMATION

REFERENCE STATUS

YOUR INFORMATION (ALL FIELD ARE REQUIRED)

If available, provide the applicant's relative standing in your department:

How would you rate this applicant in:

Please provide the most compelling reason for Virginia Tech to admit this applicant and explain your reasoning.

Characters remaining:

2000

Use this section to provide additional comments on the attributes rated above, providing examples where appropriate. Please

indicate how long you have known the applicant and in what capacity. You may attach a PDF file of your comments in lieu of

entering them below.

Select file:

No file selected. (PDF Format Only, please)

Full Name: Lindsay Carlisle DeMers Program applied to: Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences

Email: [email protected] Degree applied for: PHD

Campus: Blacksburg (Main Campus)

Starting term: Summer I 2016

Reference Status:

First Name:

Ozzie

Address:

Last Name:

Abaye

Title:

Professor

City:

Institution/Company: State/Province:

ZIP/Postal Code:

Daytime Phone:

Email Address:

cotton@vt.edu

Communication skills: