Minnesota high school seniors are getting college acceptance letters, without ever applying

NINA MOINI: Throughout October, graduating high school seniors are learning which secondary schools and universities they're automatically admitted to before they even apply. It's part of the state's Direct Admissions program, now in its fourth year. Here to share more about how direct admissions simplifies the college admissions process is Program Coordinator Aaron Salasek. Thanks so much for your time this afternoon, Erin.

AARON SALASEK: Yeah, you bet. Thanks, Nina. I appreciate you highlighting the program.

NINA MOINI: Definitely such an exciting time of year for a lot of students. It's maybe early in the year for a lot of students to feel like they are making a decision. Tell us more about what this program is and how it works.

AARON SALASEK: Yeah, for sure. And early is definitely intentional, as well. So Direct Admissions is Minnesota's proactive admissions program for high school seniors. It's coordinated by the Office of Higher Education. And it takes a really simple premise and approach to a very complicated issue, which is college admissions.

Unfortunately, college admissions has become complicated. It's not a universal process. And it's really hard for students and families sometimes to know even where and when to start. And so this program actually takes the mystery out of it and leads with a list for students that is one of validation.

So it says an affirming yes, that these colleges, these institutions, that are on your list are a good starting point for you to explore college access and that you indeed can do this. It does so by using existing data, some very simple fields.

It also has 55 participating post-secondary partners. So all of Minnesota State, four of the five University of Minnesota campuses, 15 of the 18 private colleges and universities across the state, and three of our four tribal colleges are all partners in this effort of promoting college access and telling students that we indeed do believe that you are college material, and so just take the next step. Essentially, I think, to sum it up, Nina, it takes, again, the mystery out of it for students, and it gives them a blueprint to move forward.

NINA MOINI: So how do you decide which schools would fit with which student?

AARON SALASEK: That's a great question. So there's actually two advisory groups that, in the past, have worked in conjunction with Office of Higher Education to keep the program moving forward and getting us to the best possible place we could be for Minnesota's families and students. Part of that group are post-secondary college partners who, each year for the last four years, have taken a look at data, the timing of the program, and so on, and have basically created what we call academic tiers.

And those academic tiers are, quite simply, students' unweighted, cumulative GPA and their course progression through their time in high school. Or another way of looking at that is, are they taking classes that are on track to prepare them for college, for post-secondary?

And it's simply those two factors that colleges have opted into one of five by which they would automatically extend a student an offer of proactive admission. And so really excited that, over the last couple of years, those tiers have become simpler. They've become more open access. And they've become more easily understandable by students and families across the state.

NINA MOINI: Yeah. And a lot of people may not know you about the program. Has it been growing over the years? Are you doing education work with people out there just to make sure they know about it?

AARON SALASEK: Yeah, you bet. We will go to any space and meet with anybody who wants to learn more about Direct Admissions because we think it's such an exciting program and benefit for our students and families. We have grown exponentially over time. This fall, we're in 257 high schools.

When the program started, it was around 27 high schools in the initial year. And to date, this October, We've had close to 170 high schools, or about 2/3 of the current cohort, submit their information. So we're looking at over 27,000 students already this fall who have received their proactive admissions notification.

NINA MOINI: So the admission fee, I would guess, is waived. That can be a barrier sometimes. What other kinds of financial aid barriers, or how does this really benefit students? Because then I want to ask about how it benefits these institutions, as well. But first, for these students, you don't have to fill out an application. You know. You get your letter, and you know, OK, I'm good to go. I have a college I can go to. What is the process then?

AARON SALASEK: So in addition to just being a simpler application process to begin with, and also application fees being waived for the entire school year, it also gives students and families a really critical element that I think is unspoken. And that's time. It creates a longer runway for families to connect with colleges, for colleges to connect students and families with student support services that they need for their academic success, and that other component, that critical piece of not just, can I go to college-- which, again, this program says, yes, you can-- but also, how do I afford a college education?

And so part of FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or state aid programs, is just knowledge and taking the steps to navigate those processes. And so, here we are, in the month of October, with all of our students fast tracking their college search process. But it also indirectly fast tracks financial aid and conversations and thought work around paying for college, too.

NINA MOINI: OK. So then, from the perspective of the colleges and universities, how is it helpful?

AARON SALASEK: Yeah, for sure. Well, just in general, as many of your listeners probably know, there's an enrollment challenge across the country. And so, in general, most direct admissions programs were put into place for specific reasons. Minnesota's is rooted in equity and access. But then, in addition to that, it's also about workforce and keeping our students here within our wonderful state for our awesome post-secondary options. It's also been correlating with an increase in enrollment within the state.

So we do know, through our assessment the last four years, that we've seen an increase of about 6% of students remaining within the state of Minnesota immediately following high school graduation. And we hope that that will only continue in the future as direct admissions spreads, becomes more ingrained in the college-going culture, and is sustained here at the agency for students and families.

NINA MOINI: And then is this for any type of specific programs, or is it, anything you want to study, you're free to do that?

AARON SALASEK: That's a great question, Nina. It's actually for general admission, so it's not major-specific. And that's somewhat by design. So I think the first thing I'd say to that is, for managed programs, the colleges do a great job connecting with students and explaining the process about how to go about next steps if they want to enroll in a highly competitive, or maybe more of a niche, major.

The other side to that coin is that, when you think about what must a student know in order to go to college, it's arguable if a major is a part of that. Not to minimize the understanding of one's future but we also know how often students will change majors at their post-secondary institutions, as well. So it's designed for general admission. And it's designed for students to be motivated to take that first step.

NINA MOINI: And then are you adding institutions as it goes? You mentioned that there's an algorithm, or something happens, at that level, and it goes out to students. But could they ever proactively see a list of, I wonder if this college participates? And how does that work?

AARON SALASEK: Yeah. So being a public agency, all of our information is out there on our agency website. Any high school, any secondary high school, it's our goal to be in all public schools by 2030. So we're in about 257 of the 800-plus right now.

But it's not limited to public schools. We have one parochial high school that's participating. We have a number of competency-based, or project-based, high schools also participating this year. Every high school that's applied has been admitted to the program, Nina. And that also applies for our post-secondary partners. We have 55 at this time. But if one of those other higher education institutions would like to join, the door is always open, and we'd consider that, as well.

NINA MOINI: And so just lastly, Aaron, for students who may be listening-- maybe they're in their sophomore year, or parents, probably more likely, listening-- what can they do to be proactive about the Direct Admissions program? Or do they just wait, and it will come to them?

AARON SALASEK: Well, if you're at a high school where Direct Admissions is not a part of the college search process, by all means, have your counselors reach out to our agency. I'm happy to connect with them and start the application process. Because of the nature of data shared, there are required contracts that we have to have in place. But it's pretty seamless after that.

And then, to your point, Nina, really, students just wait after that because the whole idea is we automate the admissions process behind the scenes so they're being informed at the start of their senior year. If you're at a Direct Admissions participating high school, that's awesome. Our resources, again, are all public. You can start some cursory search now by accessing the resources that are already out there.

NINA MOINI: All right, Aaron. Thanks so much for stopping by Minnesota Now and filling us in about this. Really appreciate your time.

AARON SALASEK: Yeah. Thank you again for having me. Appreciate it.

NINA MOINI: That was Aaron Salasek, the Direct Admissions program coordinator with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education.