Students with a certain grade-point average in the Fort Worth Independent School District will be eligible for automatic admission to the University of Texas at Arlington.
The new partnership between the education institutions will serve high school juniors and seniors who have an unweighted 3.25 GPA or higher — or are ranked in the top 25% of their class — simplifying the college admissions process and providing eligible students with higher education opportunities. Students who have an unweighted 3.5 GPA or higher — or are ranked in the top 10% of their class — will be admitted to UTA’s Honor College. Students who wish to participate in the program must complete a form to accept their offer to UTA by May 1.
The Fort Worth ISD school board unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding with the university at its Tuesday night meeting. The early and direct admission program comes forward as district staff revealed that 61% of Fort Worth ISD students who were in eighth grade in 2013 did not end up completing high school or did not enroll in a post-secondary program. This resulted in billions of dollars of potential lifetime earnings being lost.
Students who don’t meet the eligibility requirements for direct admission to UTA will have the chance to do an on-the-spot admission review every fall or spring semester at each Fort Worth ISD high school campus through an event coordinated by UTA, according to the partnership agreement. UTA will waive fees for students who participate.
Mohammed Choudhury, deputy superintendent of curriculum and instruction, highlighted UTA’s graduation rate during a presentation on college, career and military readiness at the Tuesday meeting. UTA has a graduation rate of 58%, which is slightly higher than the national average of about 54% at four-year institutions.
Choudhury emphasized the importance of social and economic mobility to break cycles of poverty, which can be done through post-secondary education. More than half of UTA graduates are Pell Grant recipients, meaning their families make about $30,000 a year.
“A student who graduates from Fort Worth ISD has a better shot at experiencing social mobility by going to UTA,” he said, calling the admissions program “a seamless enrollment pipeline.”
“By the end of junior year before senior year starts, our kids would get one form that says, ‘You’re in.’ They have the (Blaze Forward) scholarship — $100,000 covers fees and courses. We just got to convince them to cash that ticket,” Choudhury added.