By Zoe Folsom
If you mentioned the “right to try” policy to an NMU student today, it wouldn’t be surprising to receive little more recognition than a curious stare in response. Many might only know the name Harden from Harden Hall, oblivious to the former President’s impact on Northern’s academic philosophy in the mid-20th century and beyond. One of Edgar Harden’s most treasured contributions, in his opinion, was the “right to try”: the notion that any student who wanted to pursue a college education ought to have the opportunity to seek one, irrespective of his or her past academic record. This right to try terminology as such no longer appears in any of NMU’s promotional materials or mission statements, and some will speak of it only in hushed tones. However, Harden’s policy has played an integral role in shaping the core values and intentions of Northern and the way that it relates to its students and community. Remnants of this philosophy continue to influence both the way NMU relates to its students, and how students relate to NMU.
Dr. Edgar L. Harden, the originator of the “right to try” policy, served as the President of Northern Michigan College of Education (and subsequently Northern Michigan University) from 1956-1967. Dr. Harden’s presidency coincided with a period of substantial growth and change for American higher education at large: the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (more commonly known as the “G.I. Bill”) encouraged World War II veterans to flock to colleges and universities. Moreover, shifting social norms pushed young adults toward service and information-based careers, inspired by the hope that young people would fare better in their adult careers than their parents did, and for less laborious work. This influx of new college students prompted social change in a variety of ways, but also necessitated alterations in the practices and standards of several institutions of higher education. In many cases, colleges and universities tightened their admissions restrictions in order to limit enrollment (Hilton, 1975, 142). President Harden had a different course of action in mind.
Harden knew that his time as the President of Northern Michigan University would set the stage for years to come. In a 1960 speech called “Who Shall be Educated”, addressed to the Citizens’ Conference in Lansing, he stated “…if we are to fulfill the obligations of the future, we must face reality and plan wisely. We know our students will come in greater numbers than ever before. Will our doors be open or closed?” Emphatically, he decided that Northern would prop its doors open to incoming students, and implemented what he termed the “right to try” policy. During his tenure, and for some time afterward, Northern did not utilize any formal admissions requirements, instead choosing to admit all of their applicants.
Harden came under some scrutiny for this decision, but explained it in terms of his own personal experience growing up in the era of the Great Depression and unremittingly chasing the classic notion of the American Dream. Speaking of the Upper Peninsula in a 1994 interview with NMU historian emeritus Russell Magnaghi, he said “We had a great many good kids who were good students, with no access to libraries or television, and [at] great distances. And some good schools out there—but many very bad schools—and so I thought a kid has a right to try. Anyone is entitled to that much. And if he can’t make it then he can’t make it. But, if he can make it with help, fine and dandy. I said the real function of this school is to help people help themselves, and we don’t do that when we kick them out or close the doors, or don’t give them a chance. All I want the kids to do is have a chance.” Harden argued fervently that a student’s background, whether geographic or socioeconomic, should not determine what quality or level of education he/she should receive. His open admission policy sought to provide an opportunity for those students whose potential didn’t align with their high school transcripts. Despite the controversy of his educational philosophy, Harden’s “right to try” almost certainly played a part in NMU’s dramatic enrollment spike in the 1960s.
When John X. Jamrich took Harden’s place as University President in 1968, he already had some familiarity with Harden and his orientation toward the role of higher education, since they’d spent time working together at Michigan State University. As such, Jamrich “continued to embrace [right to try] during [his] tenure,” as he told Russell Magnaghi in a 2011 interview. The language of “right to try” wasn’t mentioned as explicitly as when Harden spoke about it, but its philosophical undercurrent and accompanying lax admission policies remained firmly in place until the 1980’s and the tenure of President Appleberry. Appleberry noticed that NMU had acquired a poor academic reputation and was having trouble drawing Michigan’s brightest students to its baccalaureate programs. When faculty came to him with a recommendation for the establishment of formal admission criteria, he agreed, but he told them “we must preserve the right to try; help us find guidelines that we can still preserve the right to try and yet to some fact have admission standards for our regular admissions to the university” (Interview with Russell Magnaghi, 1995). Although the faculty and administration ultimately decided that a completely open-door admissions policy didn’t best serve the NMU community (and were rewarded for that decision, when freshman enrollment increased after the implementation of admission requirements), an emphasis on accessibility and providing opportunity to all students willing to put forth an effort remained a guiding principle of the University.
It's important to remember that this policy wasn’t merely an abstract administrative decision impacting Northern’s image: it made a dramatic difference for those students who benefitted from it. Perhaps one of the most famous examples, John Beaumier came to NMU as a “right to try” student and football player and later became a renowned orthopedic surgeon. He was so grateful to Northern that he donated the funds to construct the Beaumier Alumni Welcome and U.P. Heritage Center on campus. Of course, his is not the only success story: in high school, Dr. Malcolm McNeil focused mostly on attaining the minimum grades to stay eligible for sports, and his high school counselor told him he’d be lucky to get into a barber school. Thankfully he didn’t accept that and he decided he ought to go to college. Though he struggled his first year, he eventually figured out how to study for college courses, and had a professor (Dr. Lon Emerick) who encouraged him to pursue his master’s degree in speech pathology at NMU. He became one of the top researchers in the field of speech disorders and has contributed to some of the finest programs in the country, and everywhere he goes, he advocates for the right to try. Other right-to-try recipients have gone on to have decades-long careers in both public and private service, and one sentiment unites them all: they have no idea where they would have ended up without the right to try.
The NMU admissions office no longer uses the words “right to try” when explaining their ongoing commitment to accessibility; the 2006-2007 University Bulletin merely mentions that “Northern has a longstanding policy of providing opportunity to students.” However, much of the admissions standards dedicated to providing opportunity to a broad range of students remain in place. Test score and GPA requirements held steady at the levels Appleberry and his contemporaries had decided on until the Covid-19 pandemic, when the university voted to go “test-blind” for the 2021 admissions cycle and disregard applicants’ test scores (considering some schools were unable to offer normal SAT and ACT testing). A possibly permanent switch to test-blind admission policies will also be discussed in University policy-making circles, given that standardized test scores don’t seem the best predictor of a college student’s success. Yet, before conversations about going test-blind began, students who needed extra help still had a chance. Multiple alternative options have offered students who don’t meet GPA and test score requirements a way to pursue the education that best fits them; for some, this means enrolling in an associate’s or certificate program that doesn’t utilize admission requirements. For others, it has taken the form of a program formerly known as Freshman Studies (now simply referred to as academic probation), in which students start taking classes as probationary students and become full students upon successfully passing their courses.
According to Executive Director of Admissions Gerri Daniels, current admission standards have one primary guiding principle: student success. Over many years of conducting internal research, Northern has kept track of what factors seem most important for fostering college students who stay committed. Programs like academic probation and services like all-campus tutoring and the Writing Center serve Northern’s mission of accessibility while also ensuring that students receive the support that they need in order to thrive in the university environment. “If you’re going to admit students who are a little bit more academically at risk, then I think you have an obligation to provide services,” said Daniels (Interview with Zoe Folsom, 2020). She openly admits that students will get as much out of their college education as they want, but sees Northern as providing a variety of options for different kinds of students; through the varying length and focus of its degree and certificate offerings, Northern continues to honor the legacy put forth by Dr. Harden. As he told the Michigan Association of Higher Education in 1960, “The demand to educate everyone up to the level of his ability and the demand for excellence in higher education are not incompatible. We must honor both goals. We must seek excellence in a context of concern for all…If we are to do justice to the individual, we must seek the kind of education which will open his eyes, stimulate his mind, and unlock his potentialities. There is no one formula for this (emphasis original).” Northern might have updated its recipe in the 60 years since Harden spoke those words, but the main ingredients haven’t changed.