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State Senate approves change in rule that grants automatic entry to public colleges

Updated 9:26 PM CDT, Tue, Mar 24, 2009

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Debating the most sweeping reform of college admissions policies in more than a decade, Texas senators approved legislation Tuesday that would end automatic entry to students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school class.

Practically speaking, most students who make the top 10 percent cut would still be able to get into a public Texas college -- some college -- for years.

But the University of Texas at Austin, where more than 80 percent of the home-state freshman class are admitted under the rule, could start cutting back on such automatic admissions by the fall of 2010 if the changes are approved.

In a surprise move, the Senate also tacked on an amendment that would give full scholarships to needy students who meet the top 10 percent threshold. Qualified students not admitted to the public college of their choice could use the scholarship at a Texas university that did let them in.

The reform, which faces several more hurdles in the Legislature before it could become law, would still give automatic admission to top high school achievers. But the reforms would cap the number universities have to admit.

Under the legislation, universities could start turning away students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their class once they made up 60 percent of a university's entering freshman class.