Continuing focus on an issue introduced during last week's Convocation, the Board of Trustees discussed student success as it relates to the college admission index during its regular meeting last Wednesday.

Currently, all traditional students with an admission index of 76 are automatically admitted. Those with a lower index are reviewed by the college's Admission Committee and may be offered admission.

However, an analysis provided by Bill Hathaway-Clark, interim associate dean of student services/director of admissions, shows that many students who are admitted to Metro at the index or below it must take several remedial courses at Community College of Denver before they can enroll in Metro courses.

That leads to frustration among students who thought they had been admitted to Metro only to find that they first have to take community college courses. "We're maxing out CCD," Hathaway-Clark said. "It's something that has to be addressed."

One possible solution is to change the admission process and begin reviewing high school transcripts of those with an index under 84. "We may be able to minimize the number of new students who need remedial courses," Hathaway-Clark said.

Interim President Ray Kieft is establishing a task force of faculty and staff to examine the issues that Hathaway-Clark has raised and develop recommendations by mid-February.

Also at the meeting trustees were presented with four names to consider for the college presidency during executive session. "They discussed these names and didn't eliminate anyone or take any action," said Search Advisory Committee Chair John Buechner. Buechner said he anticipates that the board will hold another executive session to further discuss the prospects and any additional candidates before its October meeting.

Another topic was faculty recruitment. Interim President Ray Kieft told the BOT that the college had hired seven tenure-track faculty of color this fall. "Over the past several years we've experienced a decline in faculty of color, but we're starting to see some success. We're not where we want to be, but this shows we can be successful if we put our minds to it." The hiring process, Kieft added, is no different. "There is no relaxation of hiring standards," he said.