Reports and analyzes a decision of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that Mississippi's five predominantly white public universities continue to close themselves off to black students by their financial aid policies. Notes that the Court did not order changes in the state's public institutions' admissions policies as desired by the…

Georgia's merit-based HOPE scholarships, which cover tuition and fees for over half the undergraduates at the University of Georgia, are credited for bringing better students to the university but also for bringing pressure for grade inflation to the institution. Recipients must maintain a B grade average. The university has become competitive…

During the 1997 session, many Texas lawmakers, especially Black and Hispanic Democrats, have introduced legislation to avert a crisis in the state's higher education system arising from the Hopwood v. Texas supreme court decision leading to discontinuance of affirmative action. Two controversial bills that were approved concerned softening of…

A 1997 Texas law requires universities to admit the top 10% percent of seniors from each Texas high school, opening a door for many Hispanic and Black seniors in schools with high minority populations. Observers are concerned some students may be underprepared for university work. Elite public universities around the country are watching to see if…

The University of California's governing board has agreed to accept the top 4% of graduates from each high school in the state, the most significant expansion of the system's entrance criteria in two decades. The new policy will yield about 3,600 additional eligible students and improve racial/ethnic diversity, which is welcome after a ban on…

Although Georgia officials are moving to close college-admissions loopholes they say allow public colleges to admit many unqualified undergraduates, some black leaders fear enrollments at the state's three public, historically black colleges will suffer. The plan would funnel underprepared students into remedial classes at two-year colleges. (MSE)