College admission officers say there is a need to define exactly what constitutes an application to prevent misuse of the number of applications reported by schools seeking a higher standing in student user guides.

Ray Brown, dean of admissions, said guide book rankings are important because high school students use them to filter out or choose a selective university with favorable academic rankings.

The total number of applications received, among other data, is what guide books use to rank schools. Accuracy is important because the numbers colleges report goes directly into print, Brown said.

Universities self-report application numbers to the Common Data Set, a national survey used by several college guides. There are no specifics for what colleges can count as applications, so this can sometimes leads to an application counting free-for-all.

Wes Waggoner, admission practices chair for the Texas Association for College Administration Counseling, said a murky definition of what applications are is a concern among education professionals.

“When the admissions office pads application numbers, the image of exclusivity arises,” Waggoner said. “Students figure it’s next to impossible to get accepted into such an ‘exclusive’ school.”

High rejection rates means the school is more exclusive, and therefore pushes the institution closer to the top in rankings, Waggoner said.

“Schools sent in numbers that go directly into print,” Brown said. “There are no governing rules, only ethics.”

The numbers are in question because universities are finding new ways to define and count “applicants,” Brown said.

Colleges at other schools have told Brown they report admission numbers including withdrawn applications, teacher recommendations and SAT scores in application totals.

“Without a clear-cut definition, this happens every year,” Brown said. “Pumped up application numbers and low acceptance from those numbers give the impression that the school is hard to get into.”

Chancellor Victor Boschini said rankings should not be the only reason a student decides to apply.

“We want high academic standards for the total student benefit,” Boschini said. “We don’t put pressure on admissions about rankings.”

Brown said he wants to take the high road. The TCU Admissions Office plans to hire an auditor to verify application numbers, SAT scores and student profiles. The auditor will come in this summer to audit applications for fall 2004 and fall 2003 before TCU sends its application report in November.

“Keeping honest with numbers is about the students,” Brown said. “Take pride in knowing TCU does not count any application that is not student initiated.”

Likewise, admission officials at Baylor University and Southern Methodist University report counting only applications filed electronically or by mail.

“Our numbers are verifiable,” said James Steen, the director of admission services at Baylor. “But auditing would be a useful tool for consistency.”

Rice University, considered by many to be the most selective private school in Texas, counts applications differently.

“We report the first part of our application process which includes a student-initiated application plus an application fee or fee waiver,” saidJulie Browning, the dean of undergraduate admissions at Rice. “Otherwise we don’t count it in our reports.”

Waggoner said having an outside objective voice would give validity to reports. He pointed out that although audits would ensure accuracy, the auditing agencies would need a standard definition for what an application is. 

And that brings back the question of what counts as an application, he said.

“If this was done, even the auditing agency would demand a standard methodology,” Waggoner said. “And if it was defined, schools could only be pressured to follow.”