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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif">Good morning, OACRAO colleagues.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif">Please see the message below from Dr. Debbie Blanke regarding ACT/SAT scores and policy flexibility related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Please feel free to reach out to
me with any questions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif">Kyle Foster, Ph.D.
</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#7F7F7F">(he/him/his)</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#7F7F7F">Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#7F7F7F">Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt"><a href="https://goo.gl/maps/nMc3YG81uo72"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#8496B0">655 Research Parkway, Suite 200 | Oklahoma City, OK 73104</span></a></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#8496B0"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#7F7F7F">P: +1 405 225 9163 | F: +1 405 225 9300 | E:</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif">
</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt"><a href="mailto:kfoster@osrhe.edu"><span style="font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#8496B0">kfoster@osrhe.edu</span></a></span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Century Gothic",sans-serif;color:#8496B0"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://okhighered.org/"><span style="font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif;color:windowtext;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="298" height="66" style="width:3.1041in;height:.6875in" id="_x0000_i1029" src="cid:image003.jpg@01D73507.3B5B6E90" alt="cid:image004.jpg@01D71978.0F77D340"></span></a>
<a href="https://www.ok.gov/"><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="230" height="63" style="width:2.3958in;height:.6562in" id="_x0000_i1028" src="cid:image004.png@01D73507.3B5B6E90" alt="cid:image005.png@01D71978.0F77D340"></span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> Blanke, Debbie <br>
<b>Sent:</b> Monday, April 19, 2021 8:39 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> Council on Instruction <coi@osrhe.edu>; Council on Student Affairs <cosa@osrhe.edu><br>
<b>Cc:</b> Foster, Kyle <kfoster@osrhe.edu><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Pandemic Policy Guidance on Standardized Testing<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif">Dear COI and COSA members,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif">As you know, the past year has been challenging for both students and institutions struggling to adjust to life in a worldwide pandemic. In order to ensure that no student
wishing to attend a State System institution was disadvantaged, Chancellor Johnson issued guidance on using flexibility in the application of several State Regents’ Academic Affairs policies on March 30, 2020. This guidance was updated on April 8, 2020
and May 7, 2020. The State Regents affirmed the ability for institutions to exercise this flexibility due to the pandemic at their September 3, 2020 meeting and extended it into the 2021-2022 academic year at their March 4, 2021 meeting (attached).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif">As detailed in the letter from Chancellor Johnston to presidents and communicated by Academic Affairs staff during the past year, the option to utilize flexibility is
not a broad circumvention of policy and only exercised as necessary to accommodate students. We have received questions regarding whether students admitted months ago without providing ACT or SAT scores will be required to now take one of these college admission
tests and submit the scores to the institution to which they were admitted. Although data from student test scores play an important role in admission in the context of the State Regents’
<i>Institutional Admission and Retention </i>policy, we have concluded that asking students who have already been admitted to now test would place a substantial burden on students and institutions; therefore, State System institutions will not be required to
ask students who have already enrolled to submit an ACT or SAT score. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif">Please keep in mind that institutions must still track students admitted without submitting required records, including ACT or SAT scores for reporting at the end of
each semester for the duration of the policy flexibility allowances. This flexibility is not intended to be an overall exception to the policy requirement that students submit a test score for admission; there should be a compelling reason to allow students
to be admitted without fulfilling this requirement, especially since testing is now readily available in most circumstances. As a reminder, applicants may use the ACT on Campus (formerly known as the residual ACT) to fulfill this requirement.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif">Finally, please note that institutions will be expected to follow all policy requirements once the current flexibility allowances expire at the conclusion of the 2021-2022
academic year. The only institutions who will not be mandated to require ACT or SAT scores at that point will be those institutions that have been approved to conduct test-optional admissions pilots.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif">If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or Dr. Foster (<a href="mailto:kfoster@osrhe.edu"><span style="color:#990000">kfoster@osrhe.edu</span></a>).
As always, thank you for the time and dedication you expend for your institutions and, most importantly, your students.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Lucida Calligraphy";color:#6600CC">Debbie Blanke, Ed.D.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">655 Research Parkway, Suite 200<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Oklahoma City, OK 73104<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">(405) 225-9145<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:dblanke@osrhe.edu">dblanke@osrhe.edu</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.okhighered.org/">www.okhighered.org</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> <img border="0" width="124" height="58" style="width:1.2916in;height:.6041in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image006.jpg@01D734F7.6BD078F0"> <img border="0" width="143" height="41" style="width:1.4895in;height:.427in" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image007.png@01D734F7.6BD078F0"> <img border="0" width="96" height="44" style="width:1.0in;height:.4583in" id="Picture_x0020_3" src="cid:image005.png@01D734F6.52EB9910"> <o:p></o:p></p>
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