In the last couple of years, SMU has put an emphasis on improving academic standards, and university officials have voiced these sentiments publicly.

We heard many times during last spring’s Task Force saga that the university is focused on improving its academic reputation. The school backed it up by passing many of the Task Force recommendations. Perhaps the new initiatives will help SMU ditch the party-school reputation and gain higher esteem in academia.

But is the university doing enough to attract top-notch students? The Class of 2011 had the highest average SAT scores and the most President’s Scholars in school history. That sounds good, but does it really speak much about our true academic standing?

For the price we pay to go here and the location of the school, shouldn’t we be ranked higher than No. 66 on the U.S. News & World Report rankings of best colleges?

Many students here are from California, where they could have chosen academic powerhouses California-Los Angeles or California-Berkley, and saved about $25,000 a year. Granted, these colleges are more selective than SMU and attract more diverse students, but with the resources we have in Dallas and at the university, we should be competing with top-notch schools on the East and West coasts.

So what can SMU do to break the Top 50? The answer is that it must get creative.

Just ten spots behind SMU on the U.S. News & World Report rankings is Baylor, another in-state university. Baylor is also private, and tuition costs roughly $7,000 less per year.

Baylor, like SMU, is serious about becoming more competitive academically, so it offered a unique incentive.

Admitted students that retake the SAT receive a $300 bookstore credit. And if a student improves his score by 50 points or more, he receives a $1,000 merit-based scholarship. Wouldn’t that make you want to do a little better?

According to media reports, 861 students out of a freshman class of roughly 3,000 took advantage of the offer and re-tested. The university reported that 150 students received the $1,000 “Baylor Scholarship,” and the school’s average SAT score inched to 1210 from 1200.

All this is part of a plan called “Baylor 2012,” which calls for the university to attain the 50th spot or better in the college rankings in the span of just a few short years. While many media outlets have criticized Baylor for bribing students to re-test, you have to admire the initiative.

Students here need an incentive to do well in school, and SMU needs to search for something to award them for outstanding academic achievement. Any school can offer merit scholarships, and any school can tell its students that good grades matter when it comes to finding a job. But what will set SMU apart from the pack in the minds of potential new students?

The university should start by changing its focus. Instead of telling students not to party on Thursday nights, the university should show them what is available if they skip the parties and do well in school.

Offering incentives for academic achievement, like Baylor, is the best way to get SMU on the right track. The rest will take care of itself when elite students begin choosing the Hilltop instead of the University of Texas or Rice University.