KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — High school students in Tennessee can have more assurance in their ability to pursue a college education after the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees passed a proposal on Friday to guarantee admission to high school graduates who meet certain criteria.

The board voted on the proposal on Sept. 8, according to a release from the university. The release also appeared to clarify the criteria that high school students would need to meet for guaranteed admission to specific undergraduate campuses.

The approved change applies to all campuses and goes into effect for the current, Fall 2024 admissions cycle.

Previously, the proposal shared with WATE said the criteria that students would need to meet to be guaranteed first-year admission to any UT undergraduate campuses included that they must:

• Finish in the top 10% of their high school’s graduating class
• Achieve a 4.0 or higher GPA
• Achieve a 3.2 or higher GPA with an ACT composite score of 23 or higher (or an SAT score of 1130-1150 or higher.)

According to the university’s release, all UT undergraduate campuses would guarantee first-year admission to all Tennessee High School students who finish in the top 10% of their high school’s graduating class or achieve a 4.0 or higher cumulative GPA.

The third criteria of achieving a 3.2 or higher cumulative GPA and having an ACT composite score of 23 or higher (or an SAT score of 1130-1150 or higher) for high school students to be guaranteed first-year admission would only be added to the UT Martin, UT Pulaski, and UT Chattanooga undergraduate campuses, the release says.

“We want Tennessee high school students and their families to know how they can be guaranteed admission to the UT campus of their choice,” UT System President Randy Boyd said. “Identifying these standards allows us to make earlier admissions offers for more Tennessee students, and it allows them to start planning for their college experience with more certainty.”

The university said that 64,580 students graduated from Tennessee’s public high schools in 2022, therefore the admission policy would make approximately 6,400 prospective students automatically eligible for admission to the university in 2024.

Additionally, in 2022, nearly 16,000 of the state’s high school graduates had an ACT composite score of 23 or higher, according to the release.