TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ public universities are admitting few freshmen who don’t meet admission standards.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that fewer than 5 percent of freshmen fell short of state-established academic benchmarks last year. Before 2000, Kansas had an open admissions policy that allowed virtually anyone with a diploma from an accredited high school to be admitted to any of the six universities.

But concerns arose about the number of students who either flunked out their freshman year or needed remedial courses. There are three ways to meet the standards, with scoring at least 21 on the ACT college entrance exam among the options.

Universities also are able to admit a limited number of students who don’t meet the standards as exceptions.