A significant transformation at Ball State University was the adoption of a selective admissions policy beginning in fall 1998.

During the mid-1980s and early 1990s Ball State had an almost "open admission" policy, denying entrance only to those in the bottom 10 percent of their graduating class.

Ball State’s retention rate, while better than some other public institutions, was just above 75 percent for students returning a second year. For freshmen entering Ball State in the fall of 1989 (and tracked through 1995) the six-year degree completion rate was 56 percent.

In 1987, concerned about the retention issue, the Indiana General Assembly ordered the Indiana Commission for Higher Education to report on "degree completion and persistence rates in Indiana postsecondary education." Already aware of the "retention issue," Ball State set up University College in 1985 to improve retention.

In 1993, however, Ball State admitted a record 4,044 students including some at-risk students. The result was a significant drop in retention, from 77.1 percent to 69.9 percent. This virtual open admissions policy resulted in three years of declining retention rates (69.1 percent in 1994, 68.2 percent in 1995 and 67.5 percent in 1996).

In 1996, senior administrators and college deans taught ID 101 classes to some of the 800 at-risk freshmen. While retention rates did not improve, the experience was edifying for administrators.

Meanwhile the General assembly passed Public Law 19 from the Acts of 1992, which mandated that the public institutions identify 30 semester credit hours of general education courses that can be used for credit for graduation at all institutions, including Ivy Tech courses.

As it turned out, this change was just what Ball State needed. It enabled Ball State to tell prospective at-risk students to enroll at Ivy Tech and, if successful, transfer to Ball State.

In 1998, the Board of Trustees approved a selective admission policy for Ball State. In 1998 and 1999, there were significant improvements in the average class rank and SAT scores of entering freshmen and improvements in retention.