Evaluating Higher Education Policy in Turkey: Assessment of the Admission Procedure to Architecture, Planning and Engineering Schools

Abstract

The admission procedure to higher education institutions in Turkey is based on the student’s high school grades and Central University Entrance Examination (CUEE) score, with a much greater weight on the latter. However, whether the CUEE is an appropriate measure in the admission process to universities is still a much-debated question. This study assesses the validity of the CUEE as a selection tool for design-based departments by examining the relationship between CUEE scores and success in university education in two design-based departments, architecture and city planning. The analysis is then extended to test the relationship in three engineering departments, computer engineering, civil engineering, and mechanical engineering. Based on the bivariate correlation and one sample t-test result, we report that CUEE scores and graduation grades have no relationship at all. We conclude that the current admission procedure to design-based schools based on solely a central examination score is not preferable.