Campus News

'Behind the Blue': Continuing Efforts Toward Student Success With Christine Harper and Asia Payne

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 13, 2020) — The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on colleges and universities across the country, and while current students have been severely affected, prospective students are also suffering due to limitations on taking the standardized ACT or SAT tests for admission.

As the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s flagship, land-grant institution, UK is doing everything possible to insure that access to higher education is simpler for future students. For the 2021-22 academic year admissions cycle, the University of Kentucky will be test-optional, meaning students can apply without a test score.

“We ran our data here at the University of Kentucky, and it paired very well with the national data,” said Christine Harper, UK’s associate vice president for student success and chief enrollment officer. “Finding that GPA is a better indication of student success and retention.”

On this episode of "Behind the Blue," Harper is joined by Asia Payne, UK’s assistant director of academic scholarships, to talk about what test-optional means for prospective students, the range of scholarships available, the continuing availability of campus tours, and more.

"Behind the Blue" is available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of “Behind the Blue” each week. UK’s latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue," email BehindTheBlue@uky.edu or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue.

To discover what’s wildly possible at the University of Kentucky, click here.

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.