University of Wisconsin System officials will meet tonight in an open public forum to discuss systemwide changes to the UW admissions policy — including what role, if any, race should play. UW System spokesperson Dave Giroux said the forum is being held because the Board of Regents — which ultimately sets policy for all UW campuses — wants to hear what the public had to say about the issue. "It's really an opportunity for a lot of people to voice their concerns on all matters related to admissions," Giroux said. "And this really is not about affirmative action — it's just about the freshman admissions policy." Revisions to the current admissions policy would include applying a more holistic approach to the process. The new structure would allow UW System universities to place greater emphasis on non-academic aspects of prospective students, including race, socioeconomic status and extracurricular activities, for example. Opponents to the policy's revisions contend, among other things, that such non-academic qualities as a determining factor in admissions will limit the number of students in the UW System who are likely to graduate. "One thing we hear repeatedly is that we really don't know how to tell our kids how to get into Madison," said Mike Mikalsen, spokesperson for Rep. Stephen Nass, R-Whitewater. "At a minimum, the greatest weight should be to academic factors, because that's the greatest balancer." Mikalsen also said many of these non-academic factors for admission are not under the control of students, such as race and the level of parents' education, whereas academic success is a factor students are directly responsible for. Board of Regents President David Walsh said the forum will provide the public with a way to voice its opinion to UW System officials on the admissions issue. Walsh also said he believes the system needs to start looking at more than grades to begin building a diverse campus. "[The admissions department] should look at more than just grades and class rank," Walsh said. "This reaffirms that class rank and grades will be primary, but we also want to look at life experiences and other things that indicate the person's ability to do well."_But Mikalsen called the forum "kind of silly," and predicted the public input will have no effect on regents' final decision. "Sometimes the Legislature gets pinned as a forum that doesn't care about what's being said, and in this case," he said, "it's exactly what's going on here." Walsh said regardless of Mikalsen's prognosis is correct, he is hopeful the public will voice its opinion to the UW representatives so that they can build a clear view of its beliefs. "I encourage people to come and join in some constructive communication," Walsh said. The forum will be held at 4:00 today in room 235 of The Pyle Center, 702 Langdon St.