Western students might have to meet higher standards soon.

The President’s Task Force on Quality and Access released recommendations to tighten admissions and create more college readiness programs to the president on Tuesday.

The task force’s goal is to get more students to stay in school and graduate, said Chair David Lee, dean of Potter College of Arts and Letters.

“I think what these recommendations will do is increase student success,” he said.

Lee said the task force will host a meeting at 3 p.m. Monday in the Mass Media Auditorium to get feedback about the recommendations.

The task force will give a final report to President Gary Ransdell at the end of April, he said.

Lee said he expects Ransdell to take action on the recommendations next fall.

Ransdell couldn’t be reached for comment.

The task force recommends that Western turn down applicants with ACT scores below 15 and high school grade point averages below 2.0.

Four students admitted in the last seven years with that profile graduated, according to the recommendations.

Lee said about 40 students wouldn’t have been accepted in fall 2008 under those standards.

Western currently accepts students if they have a 2.5 GPA or an ACT score of 20, according to the recommendations.

Ann Mead, vice president for finance and administration, said in an e-mail that the proposals won’t affect tuition revenue because enrollment and retention rates are up.

Lee said task force members think college is valuable for most people, but some aren’t prepared.

The task force recommends that students who scored below 18 in English and below 20 in Reading on the ACT get Directed Admission, Lee said.

Directed Admission means students would take preparatory classes and have mandatory class attendance, study hall and advising meetings through Western’s Success Through Evaluation, Placement and Support program, according to the recommendations.

Students who have at least a 2.0 GPA and an ACT score of 15 would get Conditional Admission, according to the recommendations.

Those students would participate in the STEPS program and be enrolled in the community college, which would be called Commonwealth College, according to the recommendations.

Directed and Conditional Admission students would stay in their programs until they get a 2.0 GPA, according to the recommendations.

Lee said Commonwealth College describes the community college better because it supports Kentucky’s goals and is a gate to four-year college and the workforce.

Community College Dean Sherry Reid said the college would still be part of Western.

She said there will be a forum today at 3 p.m. on South Campus about the recommendations.

The new system would give more support to students and make them accountable, Reid said.

“The focus here has always been on student success,” she said. “I think that will be enhanced.”

The task force recommends that officials enforce academic probation and dismissal policies and reviewing admission policies regularly to make sure they’re working.

It also recommends that Western work with schools in the Green River Regional Education Cooperative, which includes schools in 27 counties around Western.

Lee said those partnerships would help students be more college-ready.