Improving College Access: UW–Madison’s Odle Helps Launch One of the Largest Education Research Studies of the Century

July 31, 2025

MADISON, Wis. – In a groundbreaking project that could reshape the national college admissions landscape, the state of Tennessee launched TN Direct Admissions last week, a pilot program offering automatic college admission and personalized financial aid estimates to approximately 41,000 high school seniors. At the heart of this ambitious effort is Taylor Odle, an assistant professor of educational policy studies and principal investigator at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, as well as a faculty affiliate of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER).

Odle, a leading scholar in college access and education policy, has worked closely with the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) to design and implement the pilot. The program draws on a growing body of research which suggests that simplifying the college admissions process, particularly for students from historically underserved backgrounds, can significantly increase postsecondary enrollment.

“This is the culmination of 18 months of work and one of the largest education experiments of this century,” said Odle. “We’re reaching approximately 41,000 students at more than 230 randomly selected high schools in Tennessee with a message that college is not only possible, but accessible and affordable.”

The TN Direct Admissions pilot offers eligible students guaranteed admission to participating public colleges and universities based on academic records already held by the state. What makes the program particularly unique is that it also includes personalized financial aid estimates, helping students and families make more informed decisions earlier in the college planning process.

For Odle, the project represents a rare opportunity to bring rigorous research into direct policy application. “We often talk about evidence-based policymaking, but this is a case where the research is not just informing the policy—it’s embedded in it,” said Odle.

Odle’s work at UW–Madison focuses on the intersection of education policy, data systems, and student outcomes. His research has explored how data can be leveraged to improve college access and success, particularly for low-income and first-generation students. The TN Direct Admissions pilot builds on this foundation, using available data to proactively identify and support students who might otherwise face barriers to higher education.
The pilot is also a model of cross-sector collaboration. The project is led by THEC and Odle in partnership with the Lumina Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Making Caring Common at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. It is also made possible by the participation of 53 higher education institutions in Tennessee. Similar efforts in other states informed the program’s design, but Tennessee’s version is notable for its scale, integration of financial aid information, and commitment to rigorous evaluation.

Odle, THEC and the project’s partners will study the outcomes over the coming years to assess enrollment patterns and learn how different types of information affect students’ decisions to enroll in college. The findings could have far-reaching implications for how states and institutions approach college admissions in the future.

“This is not just a policy experiment—it’s a research opportunity of national significance,” Odle said. “We’re excited to learn from Tennessee’s leadership and to share those lessons with the broader field.”
As the fall semester approaches, thousands of Tennessee students will receive their direct admission offers—many of them the first in their families to receive such an offer. For Odle and his colleagues, it is a powerful reminder of what is possible when research, policy, and practice come together in service of educational equity.