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LAYTON — Dan Linford, the Davis School District superintendent, didn't consider himself college material on graduating from high school.
"I didn't have the GPA. I certainly didn't have test scores," he said.
With a little family motivation, remedial classes and help from his professors at Weber State University, though, he made it and now leads the second-largest school district in Utah. "It was a life-changer," he said.
Now, he and the leaders of Weber State University, Davis Technical College and Ogden-Weber Technical College are teaming to send a message to others who, like Linford, may think postsecondary education isn't for them. A college or technical school education is attainable, whatever reservations you may have, and the three schools announced an initiative Thursday granting automatic admission to graduating high school seniors from Weber, Davis and Morgan counties.
Just 60% of high school graduates pursue postsecondary education within three years of graduation, said Weber State President Brad Mortensen, "So we're trying to remove all the barriers that we can for them to know that they are college material, and they can get into school."
One of those barriers, the officials say, is the application process, and by granting automatic admission, they hope to eliminate that hurdle and encourage more students to give college a try. News of the partnership between the three postsecondary institutions — the Northern Wasatch Collegiate Coalition — in partnership with the Weber, Ogden, Davis and Morgan County school districts, came at a press conference Thursday at Northridge High School in Layton.
"Even small obstacles, like the college application process, can feel daunting or overwhelming for some people. The point is to make it even easier to get started," said Weber State spokeswoman Rachel Badali. "With this initiative, students just fill out an interest form to receive more information on one or all three schools that have admitted them."
Darin Brush, president of Kaysville-based Davis Tech, said the aim is to reach students who might otherwise think college isn't for them, whether they pursue degrees or vocational or technical certificates. Some 10,000 students graduate from high school in Weber, Davis and Morgan counties each year.
"We want those kids to understand that we want them at our institutions, and we're committed to their success," he said.
James Taggart, president of Ogden-based OTECH, emphasized the schools' open-enrollment policies, meaning they will accept all high school graduates, even if they didn't finish at or near the top of their classes.
"Don't worry about GPA. We have a program or a degree where we know that you're going to be successful," he said.
Weber State and the tech schools are already gearing up the program. Notices will be sent in perhaps two weeks to this school year's crop of seniors in the three counties nearing graduation advising them that they've been admitted, according to Mortensen.
Ogden High School senior Grace Malan took part in Thursday's announcement, ceremoniously receiving her admission letter from Weber State, where she plans to study. "This new direct admissions process is more than a change in procedure. It represents a move towards greater opportunity in our education. It eases our worries, makes us feel valued and empowers us to follow the dreams we've had since we were little kids," she said.
News of the Northern Utah plans comes a week after the Utah System of Higher Education announced the creation of Admit Utah, an initiative also meant to encourage post-secondary education among graduating high school seniors. The new Northern Wasatch Collegiate Coalition, as Mortensen described it, goes another step, eliminating the barrier of the application process.
Post-secondary education, Brush said, generally translates into higher income levels for those who get it, more economic stability and improved quality of life. Beyond that, he said, bolstering the education level in a community reduces reliance, broadly speaking, on public assistance and benefits the local economy.
"We want you to stay here and have prosperity in our community and our employer partners want that to happen as well," Taggart said.
