Volume 40 - Issue 41 - October 14, 2021
State of Kansas
Board of Regents
Notice of Hearing on Proposed Administrative Regulations
The Kansas Board of Regents will conduct a public hearing to consider the revocation of K.A.R. 88-29-12, 88-29-13, 88-29-14, 88-29-15, 88-29-16, 88-29-17, 88-29a-1, 88-29a-5, 88-29a-6, 88-29a-7, 88-29a-8, 88-29a-8c, 88-29a-9, 88-29a-10, 88-29a-11, 88-29a-18, 88-29a-19, 88-29b-1, 88-29b-5, 88-29b-6, 88-29b-7, 88-29b-8, 88-29b-8c, 88-29b-9, and 88-29b-10; the amendment of K.A.R. 88-29a-7a, 88-29b-3, 88-29b-4, 88-29b-7a, 88-29c-1, 88-29c-5, 88-29c-7, 88-29c-9, 88-29d-1, 88-29d-5, 88-29d-7, 88-29d-9, and 88-29d-10; and proposed new regulations K.A.R. 88-29c-6, 88-29c-8, 88-29c-8c, 88-29d-6, 88-29d-8, and 88-29d-8c. The hearing will be held at 10:00 a.m. December 14, 2021, in the Kansas Board of Regents Board Room, 1000 SW Jackson St., Suite 520, Topeka, KS 66612.
This 60-day notice of the public hearing shall constitute a public comment period for receiving written public comments on the proposed revocations, amendments, and new regulations. All interested parties may submit comments prior to the hearing to Renee Burlingham at the Kansas Board of Regents’ above address, at 785-430-4239, or via email to rburlingham@ksbor.org. All interested parties will be given a reasonable opportunity to present their views orally on the proposed amendments to the regulations during the hearing. To provide all parties with an opportunity to present their views, it may be necessary to request each participant limit any oral presentation to five minutes.
Any individual with a disability may request accommodation in order to participate in the public hearing and may request the proposed regulations and economic impact statement in an accessible format. Requests for accommodation to participate in the hearing should be made at least five working days in advance of the hearing by contacting Renee Burlingham through the contact information listed above. Individuals with hearing and/or speech disabilities may contact the Kansas Relay Center at 800-766-3777 for communication accommodations.
Copies of the proposed regulations, the economic impact statement, and the addendum referenced in the economic impact statement may be found at http://www.kansasregents.org/about/rules-regulations or by contacting Renee Burlingham.
A summary of the proposed regulations and the economic impact statement of the regulations follows:
The overall purpose for the proposed amendments, new regulations, and revocations for Article 29b and Article 29d is to establish different criteria, beginning with the summer 2022 cohort, for admission to the University of Kansas of first-time freshmen who have graduated from an accredited high school.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring of 2020, ACT/SAT testing sites were shut down and in-person testing appointments were cancelled. Since many applicants were not able to take either entrance exam, and therefore weren’t able to meet the guaranteed admission requirements at the University of Kansas, the University had to refer those applications to a review committee for consideration.
Currently, the qualified admission regulations applicable to the University of Kansas offer two guaranteed admission options:
- 21+ ACT and a minimum 3.25 cumulative high school GPA or
- 24+ ACT and a minimum 3.0 cumulative high school GPA.
Both of the options require an ACT score and both options also require that a student achieve at least a 2.5 GPA on any transferable college course work taken while in high school.
The Board of Regents is proposing to replace these two guaranteed admission options for the University of Kansas qualified admissions with the following two options:
- 21+ ACT and a minimum 2.0 cumulative high school GPA or
- minimum 3.25 cumulative high school GPA1 regardless of test score.
Both of the above options would require a student to achieve at least a 2.0 GPA on any transferable college course work taken while in high school.
These changes would allow for a test-optional guaranteed admission alternative at the University of Kansas as already exists at the other state universities.
Also, for freshmen admission to the University of Kansas currently, there is an application deadline for guaranteed admission, which is February 1. Applications received after February 1 are referred to the review committee, regardless of whether they meet the ACT and GPA requirements. The Board is proposing a removal of the February 1 deadline for all categories of students thus giving more prospective students the opportunity for guaranteed admission.
The new University of Kansas criteria would be established by amendments to existing regulations that will take effect with the review of applications for the 2022 summer session.
Each of the new regulations in Article 29c and Article 29d will replace existing regulations in Article 29a and Article 29b that are being revoked. The goal is to have the majority of the qualified admissions regulations in just the two newest Articles, 29d for the University of Kansas and 29c for the other five state universities, to make navigating the regulations simpler for students, families, high school administrators and other stakeholders. At this time, the Board of Regents is proposing revocation of 25 Article 29, Article 29a and Article 29b regulations.
The remainder of the proposed amendments are to update internal references.
There is no anticipated economic impact on Kansas high schools from these amendments. The University of Kansas may see an increase in enrollment as more students become eligible for admission and may therefore choose to apply to that institution. If this occurs, and to the extent these students would have chosen to attend other institutions in the state if not eligible for admission to the University of Kansas, those other institutions (some public and some private) may see a decline in enrollment and the students/parents may see a difference in the net cost of attendance they would incur (higher or lower depending on each student’s other options as well as potential financial aid awards). However, there are too many factors that go into students’ decisions whether and where to attend a postsecondary educational institution to estimate the impact of these regulations on any individual student or institution. Any implementation and compliance costs on businesses, business sectors, public utility ratepayers, other individuals and local government units are expected to be negligible.
There will be no economic impact on other public agencies or private businesses as a result of these regulations and the regulations will neither enhance nor restrict business activities and growth other than as previously mentioned.
1 Accredited high schools only
Blake Flanders
President and CEO
Doc. No. 049494
