Topeka ? More than 95 percent of all the freshmen admitted to any of the state’s four-year universities last year did so by meeting the state’s qualified admissions standards, one of the highest rates recorded in years, according to a report presented Wednesday to the Kansas Board of Regents.

But some higher education officials suggested those standards may be too lax, and said it could be time to consider revising them.

“I’ve come full-circle on this whole issue,” said Regents chairman Kenny Wilk, a former legislator who served in the Kansas House when the qualified admission standards were adopted in 2000.

Before 2000, Kansas had an open admissions policy, which meant virtually anyone with a diploma from an accredited high school could be admitted to any of the six universities, including Kansas University.

But universities, and many legislators, had grown concerned about the number of students who either flunked out their freshman year or needed remedial courses before they could pass freshman-level courses.

The qualified admission standards, which have not changed since then, provide three major ways for students to be admitted: by scoring at least 21 on the ACT exam, or 980 on the SAT exam; by graduating in the top one-third of their class; or by taking a pre-college curriculum in high school and graduating with at least a 2.0 grade point average.

But the law also says universities may, at their discretion, grant a limited number of exceptions to students who do not meet any of those standards. Resident students admitted under the exception rule may not exceed 10 percent of all the resident freshmen admitted that year. And the number of nonresident exceptions is limited to either 10 percent of all nonresident freshmen admitted that year, or 50, whichever is greater.

The Board of Regents is required to report to the Legislature each year the number of students admitted under the exceptions rule.

Overall in the 2013-2014 academic year, only 591 Kansas residents, or 3.1 percent of the resident freshmen admitted that year, came in through the exception rule, and only 416 nonresident students, or 3.4 percent of all nonresident students, were admitted as an exception.

Kansas University had the lowest percentage of students admitted under the exception rule: 0.6 percent of resident freshmen and 1.9 percent of nonresident freshmen.

But Regent Robba Moran said she was less concerned that the general rules may not be strict enough.

“This is the first time in the four years I’ve been on the board that I realized the third step is only a 2.0 GPA,” Moran said.

Some of the schools, including KU, have taken steps to tighten their own admission standards. Starting in 2016, KU will require a higher GPA and test scores. But some officials worry that raising the standards could discourage many students from even applying.

Wichita State University President John Bardo said he is already seeing a decline in applications, especially from minority students coming out of Wichita public schools.

But Fort Hays State University President Mirta Martin said that’s not her main concern.

“The concern that we have is the preparedness of students once they arrive at a Regents institution,” she said. “Someone who cannot earn a 2.0 in high school is not positioned to be successful at a senior institution.”