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…

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…

The Supreme Court decision in "Johnson v. Transportation Agency" supports affirmative action in principle. However, the types of affirmative action the courts will allow will continue to vary significantly. Questions and answers provide guidance for educational institutions. (MLF)

The leadership of higher education, represented by governing boards and presidents, must renew a commitment to affirmative action and equal employment opportunity as a vehicle of social justice, as a model for other institutions of society to emulate. (Author/MSE)

Many Asian Americans are accusing elite colleges, including the University of California system and Harvard University, of setting admission quotas. Colleges blame high school counselors for failing to encourage Asian students to develop verbal skills and to participate in extracurricular activities. (FMW)

Eleven techniques to recruit minority faculty are presented including: begin at the top for commitment to affirmative action; monitor department heads; search among the faculty of Black colleges; send administrators to national meetings of Black educators; etc. (MLW)

This is the eighth report by the Committee on Government Operations in the aftermath of the U.S. Department of Education's (DOE's) December 1990 attempt to ban race-specific scholarships, now called the Fiesta Bowl Fiasco. Based on a study by the Human Resources and Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee, this report finds the following: (1)…

This legal analysis of the issue of race-exclusive scholarships at colleges and universities and institutions receiving federal funds concludes that such scholarships are permissible under the Constitution or Title VI but only under limited circumstances (such as to remedy effects of prior identifiable institutional discrimination). (MSE)

The experiences of a black woman trustee for the University of Illinois are described. Public institutions of higher education are discovering that their viability during the next few decades could rely heavily on attracting and nurturing minority students. (MLW)