After adopting a new, "holistic" approach to reviewing applications, the University of California at Los Angeles has reversed a decline in the share of black students in the freshman class it has admitted for the fall. Figures released by the university this month show that the revised admissions policy appears to have increased black…

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…

In a survey of 331 campuses, nearly two-thirds of the public institutions and 54 percent of the private ones reported gains in the number of applicants. The strongest gains were at public, doctorate-granting universities. (MLW)

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…

The University of California's decision to end some racial preferences used in admissions and hiring is seen by some as an admission of long-term violations of federal court rulings, and as an effort to stem a voter revolt against affirmative action. The regents' vote on the policy is expected to be close. (MSE)

In the wake of the University of California's decision not to continue an affirmative action policy in admissions and hiring, the University system claims it will continue to encourage diversity without "using race, ethnicity, or gender" and is investigating ways to accomplish this. Other institutions are looking at how the policy change…

The decision of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to stop giving significant admissions preference to minority students sparked student protests and debate about universities' promises of affirmative action. Constitutional scholars and higher-education officials found the university's numerical goals for admissions legally risky, so the…

Reports on plans for new "race-blind" entrance criteria at the 10 public universities in Florida. Plans call for ending racial preferences in graduate education altogether and replacing undergraduate preferences with a guarantee of admission to a state university for the top 20 percent of Florida high school graduates. Critics and…

A new survey by the Virginia Council of Higher Education found that five states have imposed a ceiling on the number of out-of-state students who can attend their public institutions. Many people fear that their own state students are being denied admission because of nonresident applicants. (MLW)

The University of California Board of Regents' decision to end racial preferences in hiring, contracting, and admissions represents the most dramatic scaling-back of affirmative action policy in American higher education. The highly controversial decision is accompanied by a policy of increased outreach to low-income and otherwise disadvantaged…

A federal court ruling to desegregate Louisiana state colleges and universities would require substantial changes, including creation of a single governing board and system, designation of Louisiana State University as a selective flagship institution, creation of a community college system, reduction of program duplication, and affirmative…