Oregon opens automatic admission to high achievers

PORTLAND — The Oregon Board of Higher Education has approved a plan that will ease automatic admission for high-achieving students to a state university.

The move by the board on Thursday will automatically admit students with a 3.4 GPA and who exceed state proficiency levels in reading, writing and math beginning in the 2012 school year.

Students eligible for automatic admission get an expedited review of their applications, and if accepted, are granted priority admittance to at least one state university.

The students will still have to meet the admission standards of the specific university. To prove their eligibility, they can rely on SAT or ACT scores, or the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills test.