UNIVERSITY PERFORMANCE OF NONMATRICULATED ADMISSIONS

Nonmatriculated admission (NMA) programs in universities have sought t o promote access and equity while maintaining academic standards. Thes e programs often assume that maturity is associated with improved moti vation, interest, and decision making abilities and that life experien ce will provide the kind of contextual information that improves learn ing. These assumptions appear to be overly optimistic in their expecta tions. The academic performance of mature NMA admissions to the Facult y of Arts at the University of Alberta pins in fact substantially poor er than the performance of matriculant admissions. The problem with th is admission program may be attributable to abandonment of individual screening in favor of minimalist, formal admission criteria.