Reuters, May 24: Washington The number of Black, Hispanic, and Native American students admitted to two of California's top public schools fell by more than 50% in 1998, the year that a voter-approved initiative banning the use of race-conscious admissions policies for public colleges and universities went into effect.
These statistics for UCLA and the University of California, Berkeley serve as a sobering reminder as head teachers at universities around the country prepare for a Supreme Court ruling that is anticipated to outlaw affirmative action student admissions practices statewide by the end of June.
According to interviews with senior administrators at a dozen colleges and universities, this potential outcome in cases involving Harvard University and the University of North Carolina has given new urgency to efforts by schools to maintain or increase racial and ethnic diversity in their student populations.
Seth Allen, director of admissions at Pomona College in California, stated that "as a country, we cannot afford to regress on our goals to create an educated and egalitarian society." Therefore, it is the responsibility of higher education to determine how to collaborate in order to prevent widening the enrollment gap between various student groups.
Numerous elite colleges and universities in the United States have used affirmative action in some capacity to increase minority student enrollment for decades. They do so because they recognize the benefits of having a diverse student body in terms of educational opportunities and the diversity of viewpoints it brings to campus.
In sectors like hiring and student admissions, affirmative action refers to programs that give preference to members of particular groups perceived as being underprivileged or vulnerable to prejudice.
Many options are being investigated by schools. Administrators claimed they are developing plans to increase the diversity of applicants they recruit, remove application-related obstacles, and boost the proportion of minority students who accept their admissions offers.
A representative from Rice University in Houston said the institution will rely on the essays submitted by applicants to make sure it welcomes students from a variety of backgrounds. The U.S. Air Force Academy will put more of an emphasis on drawing applicants from a variety of congressional districts.
Connecting with high school counsellors will be "more vital than ever," according to the president of Skidmore College in New York, in order to increase the school's candidate pool.
Many institutions claimed to have previously eliminated costs, made standardized testing optional, and improved financial assistance packages—actions that would increase the enrollment of minorities.
All of the administrators acknowledged that their plans might be modified in order to be in line with the Supreme Court's analysis of the Harvard and UNC decisions. Some people admitted that any measures taken by institutions to avoid a restriction on race-conscious admissions policies may run afoul of the law.
According to Danielle Holley, the dean of Howard University School of Law in Washington and incoming president of Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, "We're going to see a whole new generation of cases develop from the new admission rules that will be implemented by schools and institutions."
According to lawsuits supported by an anti-affirmative action activist, Harvard and UNC engaged in illegal discrimination in student admissions either by disregarding the promise of equal protection under the law made by the U.S. Constitution or by breaking a federal law that forbids discrimination based on race and other factors.
It was alleged that UNC discriminated against applicants who were white and Asian Americans. Harvard has been charged with discriminating against Asian American candidates. These claims were refuted by the schools.
A local route
Many of the school officials stated that they intend to concentrate their efforts on recruiting, a step in the admissions process that they do not anticipate the court to limit.
Admissions officers stated that they were expanding their outreach to high schools and community-based organizations in lower-income and educationally-advanced neighbourhoods, which are frequently home to racial minorities.
Vice President of Admissions at Pitzer College in California, Yvonne Berumen, advised that her team hold writing workshops at high schools in the targeted zip codes to boost applications (also known as postal areas).
Chris George, dean of admissions at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, stated that information on neighbourhood income and housing stability provided by national organizations like the College Board for high schools will help direct which high schools the college sends representatives to visit as well as the recruitment events they attend.
The administrators stated that it will be essential to work with community-based organizations that identify local students who exhibit academic promise and assist them with their college applications.
According to Kent Devereaux, president of Goucher College in Maryland, "They become extensions of our recruitment and admissions team in many ways, and we're seeing each year a higher and bigger percentage of our students coming through those community-based organizations."
Administrators at schools in or near big cities, such as Pomona College near Los Angeles and Sarah Lawrence College in New York, said they hoped to enroll more transfer students from nearby community colleges and attract more students from racially diverse local high schools.
The U.S. Air Force Academy's admissions director, Colonel Arthur Primas Jr., stated that his racially diverse recruitment team will continue to visit schools in U.S. congressional districts with high populations of minorities and Make an effort to recruit more students of colour. Encourage more students to ask their local members of Congress for nominations to the academy.
According to Primas, "The Air Force Academy has a long history of deliberately seeking out minority recruits." But we'll need to be broad in our thinking.