The purpose of this paper is to document the indirect effects of the Texas Top Ten Percent Plan on professional school degrees awarded and to propose the far reach of the law as an alternative argument in support of race-conscious admissions policies challenged under the strict scrutiny standard. Designed around the two tests of strict scrutiny,…

Although national trends in rural-urban gaps in college enrolment have been well studied, little research has examined variation in gaps across provinces. Using representative data of five provinces from China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this study adopts a cross-provincial assessment approach to explore the relationship between higher education…

Using original data collected from a national survey, this research examines the perceptions of administrators in the functional areas of Admissions, Dean of Students, and Student Affairs regarding the use of criminal history questions in undergraduate admissions. We use a lens of equity mindedness to analyze whether administrators connect…

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) through strategic policy development has been at the forefront of institutional change, especially within the higher education sector. Canadian colleges have a large equity-seeking student population due to their open admission structure, but despite this, there are implicit biases and actions that impede…

The SAT and ACT have held a controversial place in American education for generations. The conventional wisdom has come to suggest that these college entrance tests are harmful to educational equity because they discriminate against students from low-income families and other students whose backgrounds may put them at a disadvantage, such as…

Despite the growing popularity of computing bachelor's programs, women remain vastly underrepresented in these fields. Using Social Cognitive Career Theory and intersectionality as guiding theories, this qualitative study explores how postsecondary institutions shape women's experiences choosing and entering computing bachelor's programs.…

District leaders in school choice contexts tend to overlook the many hidden costs of selecting schools in terms of mobility, time, liquidity, and labor. Meanwhile, a body of literature on school choice policies and cultural, social, and political capital shows that middle-class parents use the resources they possess to get the school access they…

In the face of a critical dietitian shortage, a decline in students, and a selective student placement process, this mixed-methods study examined the admissions practices of U.S.-based Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) dietetic internship program directors. It revealed a complex scenario where student interest meets stringent qualifications,…

While preferable over requiring standardized tests, test-optional policies also have some unintended consequences. The limitations of test-optional policies do not warrant a return to required standardized testing, which is even more counterproductive to equity given that race and class are substantial predictors of performance on such tests.…

This paper presents empirical evidence on kindergarten admission preparation services in Hong Kong. Parents increasingly turn to tutoring companies for a range of services, such as social skills training, portfolio editing, mock interviews, and parental consultation. We used qualitative methods to capture the views of parents, teachers, tutors,…

Prospective graduate students' noncognitive attributes are commonly evaluated as a part of a holistic review of their admission applications. Yet it is difficult to determine which noncognitive attributes are considered by those who evaluate graduate admissions applications and what approaches they take to measure applicants' noncognitive…

The National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools (NCSSS) is an organization comprised of member high schools from across the country, some of which are residential schools in which students from across the state apply to gain admittance to advanced academic science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs. Underrepresentation of…

The test-optional movement in American college admissions emerged as a response to the challenged notion that standardized tests, such as the SAT and ACT, predict student success. Research has shown that the tests may be discriminatory towards students from disadvantaged racial and ethnic backgrounds. This study examined two cohorts of incoming…

This study offers a comparative examination of desegregation policy reforms in Belgium, Chile, and the Netherlands, addressing equity reforms to universal school choice systems. Through an analysis of the reform trajectories, we explore the evolution of policies, the causal mechanisms of change, efforts to institutionalize policies, and the…

This study examines the perceptions of university students from inter-ethnic marriage families (hereafter as multicultural students) on their experiences with affirmative action policy. Ten university multicultural students who entered leading universities through affirmative action amidst the highly competitive higher education entrance exams in…