This article uses philosophical analysis to clarify the arguments and claims about racial discrimination brought forward in the recent legal challenges to affirmative action in higher education admissions. Affirmative action opponents have argued that elite institutions of higher education are using negative action against Asian American…

This update to "SAT Wars" provides new evidence in the case against standardized college entry tests, including the experiences of test-optional colleges. "The Scandal of Standardized Tests" sheds significant light on key problems such as: (1) Are the tests stronger proxies for race and family income today than they were 20…

The author reports on the U.S. Supreme Court hearing regarding the Texas admissions case that exposes gaps in the affirmative-action law. As the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging race-conscious admissions at the University of Texas at Austin, it became evident that the court's past rulings on such policies have failed to…

In November, 2008, Colorado and Nebraska voted on amendments that sought to end race-based affirmative action at public universities. In anticipation of the vote, Colorado's flagship public institution--The University of Colorado at Boulder (CU)--explored statistical approaches to support class-based affirmative action. This paper details CU's…

Educational attainment is increasingly necessary for individual mobility and national economic development at the same time that the racial and ethnic makeup of the population continues to diversify, signaling a need to improve degree attainments across racial/ethnic groups. Latinos are the largest minority group in the country and the group with…

Over the past several decades, affirmative action has become a widely-debated issue in higher education. According to research, race-sensitive admissions policies engender significant advantages for students of all racial backgrounds, yet critics claim that these benefits are matched by significant costs--particularly in terms of minority student…

The Simulated Minority Admissions Exercise, an educational technique that simulates a typical medical school admissions situation, is described. The main objective is to help medical schools to select potentially successful minority applicants and to improve their retention by ensuring that they enter medical school under positive circumstances.…

The Dream Project, which started in 2004, pairs students at the University of Washington with first-generation and low-income students in six Seattle high schools. The program teaches undergraduates at the university about higher-education policy at the same time that they help disadvantaged high-school students apply to college. The college…

In the summer of 2008, the Commonwealth of Virginia was awarded a $1.1 million grant from the U. S. Department of Education. The College Access Challenge Grant Program (CACGP) is coordinated through the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). The focus of the grant is to increase student access to postsecondary education,…

A medical school's recruitment drive to increase applications from minorities, women, and nonscience majors was unsuccessful. The recruitment program is evaluated and the importance of systematically evaluating such efforts and the inherent difficulties of changing an applicant pool are demonstrated. (Author/MLW)

In an effort to provide wider access for all students, a program has been developed for minority students to have their admissions criteria entered into a pool of colleges that need students. In this manner, their chances of being suitably placed are vastly improved. (PG)

A study of historical data on medical school applicants from 1978-79 through 1991-92 indicated that acceptance rates for underrepresented minorities and others increased as applicant numbers declined, then decreased as applicant numbers rose. However, when controlled for undergraduate science achievement and Medical College Admission Test score,…

In August 2001, applicants to Ontario, Canada, universities received a survey from the Council of Ontario Universities to better understand the socioeconomic status and representation of members of recognized designated groups (Aboriginal Peoples of Canada, members of visible minority groups, people with disabilities, and women) in the university…

This paper examines the point at which the percentage of potential non-white college applicants among children of alumni (legacy applicants) will reach a share proportional to the percentage of non-white attendees in today's selective colleges and universities, focusing on the University of Virginia. It reviews the history and objectives of the…

A study identifying the relationships between quantitative academic characteristics--specifically, grade point average (GPA) and MCAT scores--and admission into medical school for minorities is presented. Explanations are proposed for contradictory findings related to this question that have appeared in literature. Data from 58 minority student…