Aug 31, 2015 12:42 PM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire will no longer require test scores for admissions, joining the growing list of colleges to become SAT/ACT Test optional.

After years of requiring standardized scores for admission, the university announced last week that it has decided to embrace the emerging policy beginning with students enrolling in the Spring of 2016, Inside Higher Ed reported.

The National Center for Fair & Open Testing reports that more than 850 accredited bachelor-degree granting schools do not require all or many applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores. In last two years alone, 41 schools have joined that list. Recent additions include: Beloit, Eastern Connecticut, George Washington, Hofstra, Montclair State, Plymouth State, Temple, Virginia Commonwealth, Wesleyan and Western New England University, among others.

 "At Franklin Pierce University we are more concerned with who you are as a person," Franklin Pierce President Andrew H. Card, Jr. said in a statement.  "We believe in making higher education accessible to any student who has the desire to work hard and learn. By becoming test-optional, Franklin Pierce has removed a barrier to education that is not indicative of college success."

School officials at the Rindge-based school believe that high school classroom performance is the best available screening device for applicants and for forecasting academic success in college. After doing their own internal research, they concluded that high school GPA was a significant predictor of Rindge student grades through the end of their sophomore year and that SAT scores were not a significant predictor of those grades.

"Reducing a student's ability to a number does not align with our holistic admissions process," Linda Quimby, assistant vice president of enrollment, said in a statement. "This test-optional policy allows us to consider applicants strengths that may be better demonstrated in areas other than through a test score and it better connects our admission criteria with the educational experience we offer students."

Those applying to Franklin Pierce will have the option to include standardized test scores as part of their application, however high school coursework and grades will continue to be the most important factors in the university's review process, along with a student's essay, recommendations, involvement in school and community, and personal qualities and character.

The new policy will include exceptions for student-athletes, who will still be required to submit test scores to the NCAA, and students applying for the Health Sciences to Doctorate in Physical Therapy Pathway Program. 

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