CHRYSTAL MCCONELL/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA President Pete Likins speaks during the Arizona Board of Regents meeting in the Student Union Memorial Center Friday. Regents approved a new admissions policy that will give Likins more control.

State universities will have more discretion in deciding which applicants to admit beginning in 2006, under new policies adopted Friday by the Arizona Board of Regents.

Resident students in the top 25 percent of their high school graduating class will still be guaranteed admission to the state university of their choice, but UA, ASU and NAU will be able to decide which other applicants to accept.

Currently, regents' guidelines grant admission to the top 50 percent of students, or anyone with a 2.5 GPA, though some students must take remedial courses after arriving at the universities.

President Pete Likins has said UA will not likely see huge changes in the makeup of its incoming class right away, but that the new policies will gradually allow the university to better manage its enrollment.

The decision marks one of the most significant policy shifts to date under Changing Directions, a statewide initiative meant to allow the universities to pursue divergent missions.

Much of the discussion at Friday's meeting centered around admissions requirements for home-schooled students. Because they aren't ranked, some regents worried they could be isolated under the new policies.

But Likins told regents UA only receives about four applications per year from home-schooled students, and only one or two actually enroll a year.

They tend to do very well, he said.

"These are students who come from environments in which the families are very sensitive to the value of education," Likins said, asking regents not to change the ranking criteria.

They didn't change the requirements, but told Likins to monitor the progress of those students to ensure they're treated fairly.

That discussion came in response to a letter from the Center for Arizona Policy, a conservative group that lobbies on behalf of families. The group asked regents to approve minimum SAT requirements that would automatically grant admission to home-schooled students scoring above 1110 on the SAT or 24 on the ACT.

Regents also discussed whether the new requirements might make it more difficult for minority students to gain access to the universities. In a letter to the regents, the Arizona Minority Education Policy Center warned regents they were concerned about the changes' impact on minority students.

Regent Robert Bulla said he thinks holding universities accountable for ensuring minority access will help.

The discussion came as the U.S. Supreme Court is deciding whether to allow universities to consider minority status when deciding whom to admit. Regent Chris Herstam echoed the sentiments voiced by President Pete Likins when he said he hoped the court continues to allow it.

Even as some community members have questioned his sincerity, Likins has said repeatedly that creating a diverse campus is a top priority.

"You need to be in an environment with people who don't look like you," he said earlier this semester. "Managing a diversity of populations is important for us."

Regent Fred Boice said, however, he also wants to hold state schools accountable for ensuring minority students can succeed in college.

"I would ask · what they are doing to better prepare minority students for higher education?" Boice said.

The universities have been explaining the changes to high school guidance counselors, said Patti Ota, Likins' senior associate.

"In the next three years, we can assure you that all communication (with high schools) · will include information about these changes," Ota said.

Pat West, a guidance counselor at Amphitheater High School in Tucson, has been made aware of the changes and in turn has passed that on to students.

Although she's unsure how her students will be affected, she said she supports the changes.

"I think the university is a business and it has do what it needs to do for survival," she said.

Gretchen Strutton, a guidance counselor at Central High School in Phoenix, where 55 percent of the student population is Hispanic, said she doesn't think the changes in admissions standards will have a negative effect on diversity.

"I don't think (the changes) will impact one group more than another," she said.

In fact, Strutton said that the changes to admissions standards will improve both diversity and the quality of the students at UA.

When people get used to the new requirements, UA will attract more qualified students and have a higher success rate, she said.

"And it doesn't mean others can't go, it just means they have to prove themselves a little more," she said.

÷ Keren G. Raz contributed to this report.