This study investigated the underexplored topic of teacher preparation program admissions processes by interviewing faculty and analyzing program documents. We investigated how 31 K-12 mathematics and science teacher preparation programs (MSTPPs) and faculty attend to diversity, equity, inclusion, and social and racial justice (DEIJ). Specific…

Today, we revisit our initial stance of eliminating standardized test scores from the college admissions process to improve equity and student diversity. With refreshed data about test-optional admissions, we address the import of institutional responsiveness to redress persistent equity gaps that impact our state's workforce diversity and hiring…

This study focuses on how admissions at selective colleges and universities represent key racialized organizations. We analyzed data from 50 individual interviews of admissions professionals, through a theory of racialized organizations to recognize admissions as practices that consistently reproduces systemic inequities. We reveal how…

Selective college admissions are fundamentally a question of tradeoffs: Given capacity, admitting one student means rejecting another. Research to date has generally estimated average effects of college selectivity and has been unable to distinguish between the effects on students gaining access and on those losing access under alternative…

During the last ten years, a group of selective universities in Chile has started admission programs to increase equity in higher education that consider the achievement of students in the context of educational opportunities they have had, thus reducing reliance on the national college entrance exam. This study explores persistence rates of…

This paper explores how fairness was conceptualised by those responsible for admission to highly selective undergraduate courses at 17 universities in England. Fairness was conceptualised principally with reference to the traditional "meritocratic equality of opportunity" paradigm, which holds that university places should go to the most…

An effective higher education admissions system is key to ensuring the stability of the education sector and commanding public confidence in the ability of universities and colleges to deliver the best outcomes for students. Universities and colleges are autonomous in their admissions processes, but these processes are delivered in line with…

Transnational migration, especially the growth of forced migration is unsettling the literature on widening access to university education. Equity definitions and understandings that frame social inclusion have presumed stable domestic populations within nations and targeted redressing historic internal social inequalities. Refugees and people…

In an effort to align its college admission requirements with the new K-12 science standards, the University of California (UC) recently proposed to increase its high school science admissions eligibility requirement--known as area D--from two to three years. UC's new policy has the potential of improving student science learning and readiness for…

The University of Georgia has operated under a voluntary "race-neutral" admission policy for the past 2 decades. Using frame analysis theory, we examine university documents and interview data from 11 campus administrators responsible for diversity efforts to understand how diversity is framed at the institutional and individual levels…

While there is scant evidence that standardized test results (SAT/ACT) predict college success, these scores can act as barriers to college admissions and honors programs, particularly for students in underserved communities. This study examines the impact of transitioning from an honors admission framework--in which standardized tests are a key…

This manuscript describes an approach to critical qualitative data analysis that combines (1) Carspecken's critical qualitative methodological framework with (2) the conceptual resources of critical discourse analysis (CDA), as framed by Fairclough and colleagues. Carspecken's methodological theory illuminates the connection between sociopolitical…

During the last 10 years, a group of selective universities in Chile has started to implement admissions programs that consider the achievement of students in the context of the educational opportunities they have had, thus reducing reliance on the national college entrance exam. This study explores the program theories in a sample of these…

Universities are required to adopt "fair" student admission practices, yet understandings of fairness in student selection are contested. This paper uses an analysis of the admission policies of Australia's public universities to critically examine the use and application of notions of fairness. A further analysis of enrolment data is…

Current debates regarding justice in university admissions most often approach the question of access to university from a technical, policy-focussed perspective. Despite the attention that access to university receives in the press and policy literature, ethical discussion tends to focus on technical matters such as who should pay for university…