In its 2023 decision in "Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard," the Supreme Court effectively ended its approval of affirmative action in higher education admissions, holding that practices at Harvard and the University of North Carolina (UNC) were unlawful. The Court concluded that UNC's practices violated the guarantee of equal…

Today, colleges and universities use overt admissions preferences to create student bodies that reflect the ethnic, racial, or gender demographics of the population--at the expense of academic merit and preparedness. While the original aim of the policy was to end discrimination and promote fairness, it has led to unequal treatment on the basis of…

There is an abundance of research on the college admissions process and the practices selective schools employ to evaluate and select students. Most findings are complex, nuanced, or conflicting. Less than a month after the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled in "Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard" and "Students…

In the context of a long history of racial exclusion, policies designed to address racial inequalities continue to face strong opposition. This is especially true in the higher education sector, where there is strong resistance to efforts specifically designed to rectify racial discrimination (e.g., race-based affirmative action). This report…

The last several years have seen renewed debate over the role that race plays in higher education--a debate over "affirmative action." The report first considers "affirmative action" in its original sense: the "mandatory" race-conscious measures that the federal courts have imposed on "de jure" segregated…

Despite the popular belief that affirmative action gives Black and Latino students an unfair advantage, these students are still underrepresented at the nation's selective colleges and at two- and four-year public colleges and universities in the vast majority of states. The truth is, it isn't enough to just believe that racial inequality is a…

This is the 13th paper in the Association of Governing Boards (AGB's) series summarizing federal and state public policy issues affecting higher education. Governing boards, institutional and university-system leaders, and senior staffs will find it useful for board discussions and retreats and in formulating institutional responses to these…

The National Association of Scholars believes that higher education should gather scholars and students to cultivate excellence and pursue the truth, transmit the heritage of Western civilization to a new generation, prepare cultured and virtuous citizens, and train students for vocational success. American colleges and universities should embody…

Although diversity in higher education has continued to increase over the past 20 years, colleges and universities continue to enroll Black, Latinx and American Indian students in bachelor's programs at low rates; additionally, more selective institutions and high-demand fields of study are less likely to enroll these students, and they often are…

A principle responsibility of a board member is to understand the environment in which his or her institution operates. Today, that environment includes a host of legal risks that every institution of higher education must be prepared to assess and proactively address. Colleges and universities work to contain and manage those risks through such…

This paper analyses the policy of reservation for lower castes in India. This policy is similar to that of affirmative action in the United States. The paper provides a brief overview of the caste system and discusses the types of groups that are eligible for reservation, based on data from government reports. The stance of this paper is that…

In this article, Michele Moses and Lauren Saenz explore a growing trend in education policymaking--the ballot initiative. Specifically, the authors question whether information presented to voters is sufficiently substantive to permit educated decisionmaking about influential policies. Their study, a content analysis of print news media related to…

The idea that lawsuits can move a public as well as a legal agenda is not new. In recent years, conservatives have brought high profile lawsuits designed both to vindicate the rights of an individual plaintiff and to educate the public about an important issue. For example, lawsuits filed nearly 10 years ago against the University of Michigan's…

Background/Context: Although frequently associated with the United States, affirmative action is not a uniquely American social policy. Indeed, 2003 witnessed review and revision of affirmative action policies affecting higher education institutions in both France and the United States. Using critical race theory (CRT) as a theoretical lens, this…

This manual is designed for the equity professional who wishes to increase the participation of women and minority groups in leadership roles in athletics. The model was developed by Educators for Athletic Equity (EAE) and provides a data and knowledge base necessary for implementing a successful athletic equity project. The specific goals…