James C. Moore
and Roy D. Caton, Jr. The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, N e w Mexico 87106
I
An Unique Procedure for Recruiting Students
into Selected Courses
In the fall semester of 1966, the Chemistry Department a t The University of New Mexico established an experimental General Chemistry Section that was designed to accommodate approximately eighty students out of the nearly six hundred first-year students who were expected to enroll in the single general chemistry course normally offered to all students. The new section was planned to provide an intense, higher-level curriculum for chemistry majors, chemical engineers, and above-average students who desired a more rigorous introduction to chemistry.' The Department did not want to wait until orientation and registration week to notify and select students for the course and desired an efficient means to identify qualified students well in advance of the term. It was decided that selection would be based on data obtained from the American College Testing Program (ACT), since it provided a set of scores common to all potential enrollees, and more information than is generally found on high school transcripts or college application forms. Furthermore, this wealth of data is made available on tape and therefore quickly accessible. Procedure
Since the course offering was new, the Department did not have past experience from which to determine criteria for eligibility. Thus, for the first year's selection, the Department, in conjunction with the University Testing Division, chose several criteria which appeared, on a logical basis, to be important characteristics. The following criteria were used for selection test performance at or above the 90th percentile on the ACT Mathematics and ACT Natural Science Tests, and high school grades of B or better in mathematics and science COUTSeS
A computer program was written to scan the master ACT tape to locate individuals who met these criteria, and who also had been accepted for admission to the University. The program output then provided the Department with an alphabetical list of names and addresses of the admitted students who met the criteria. I n addition to listing ACT scores and high school grades, their educational and vocational plans, science achievements, and extracurricular interests were also
provided. The entire processing time required less than three minutes. The Department then proceeded to contact students via mail and invited them to enroll in the course. This personal touch was decidedly worth the additional clerical work needed to communicate with the students. It might be added that if the Department had been required to delve through the admission folders by hand to identify the same students on the same criteria, the task could not have been attempted. Subsequent to 1966, statistical sophistication and selection refinement have been added to the procedure. Each group has been followed and their grades related to the ACT predictors. Through regression analyses, the Department is currently receiving lists of students predicted to receive a grade of B or better in the course. Although the initial criteria proved satisfactory, continuing research has shown that a combination of three variables currently provide the best prediction of success in the course: the ACT mathematics test and high school grades in social science and natural science. Using these three predictors, a multiple correlation of .70 with the grade received was obtained. The above predictors and correlation should, of course, not be generalized beyond this institution.= Discussion
The above is but one of many applications which can he implemented with considerable ease and economy for a wide variety of courses and activities dependent upon the objectives and interests of the user. For example, the computer program could scan the information and identify students who indicated they were interested in majoring in chemistry and were also interested in departmental clubs, etc. This information could then be used as a means to recruit potential members who could be contracted via a personal letter which would indicate the department's interest in their specific talents and activities. 1 A course outline is avsilable on request from Roy D. Caton, Jr., Department of Chemistry, the University of New Mexico. Details concerning the program used for selection and the statistics employed may he obtained from James C. Moore, Testing Division, The University of New Mexico.
Volume 47, Number 9, September 1970
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