Parents of incoming Kansas University students gather materials and handouts during a university information fair in June. KU officials are interested in boosting admission standards.

Kansas University officials are considering raising the bar on admissions standards.

Currently, KU’s standards for incoming freshmen are the same as at other Kansas universities.

An accreditation report released in May suggested KU become more selective.

“We’re extraordinarily unusual as an? (American Association of Universities) university to have the kind of admissions system that we have,” said David Shulenburger, provost and executive vice chancellor. “It just doesn’t fit the research university mode to have such relatively low admission standards.”

The American Association of Universities includes 62 American and Canadian universities such as Harvard University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the University of Michigan. KU has been a member since 1909.

But changing KU’s admission standards won’t be easy. It would require changing state law, officials said.

“If the state law is to be changed, we’ll have to develop some consensus in the university that that’s the way to go,” Shulenburger said.

Currently, incoming freshmen must rank in the top third of their class, maintain a 2.0 GPA using a college-track curriculum or score at least a 21 on the ACT.

Raising the bar could have broad-reaching effects for Lawrence and the state.

It could stop what some call a brain-drain situation – when bright students leave because of lack of local opportunities.

“If we were selective we would appeal more to the very brightest young Kansans, many of whom now leave the state,” Shulenburger said.

He said it also could make the area more attractive to high-tech firms seeking a more exclusive pool of students.