Madison: The UW System is in the process of changing the admissions requirements, but the new approach has many politicians worried that standards are being lowered.

Cora Marrett is the Sr. Vice President of Academic Affairs for the UW System. She says it's a given the admissions process will be changed. "I don't think there's a real debate over whether we're going to do holistic admissions."

A holistic approach means colleges would factor in more than just grades and test scores when looking at high school graduates. They would also ask applicants to write about how they could contribute to a diverse campus environment. "That's not to suggest however that our institutions can only think about racial and ethnic diversity," says Marrett.

Since word of the revision leaked out last week a parade of politicians have issued press releases criticizing the changes. Some fear more qualified students could be overlooked in favor of less qualified students who better fit a certain profile.

"It's going to complicate an admissions policy that right now is well understood. It's going to highly politicize it. It's going to make it very subjective and in my opinion unfair," says Rep. Rob Kreibich (R-Eau Claire).

"We all recognize increased diversity is an important thing to do but you don't do that by lowering standards," says Gov. Jim Doyle.

Marrett says standards aren't being lowered and the best will still get in. This just gives schools another way to see who might succeed in college. "We will always pay attention to the academic parts of the portfolio, but what else needs to be considered if we're trying to prepare students for a diverse environment."

Marrett says they are still a year or two away from finalizing any admissions changes.