Neither racial minorities nor women should be made the scapegoats for the numbers and admissions crunch. Larger issues of admissions should be reexamined. The assumption that only numerical indices measure "quality" or "merit" or potential for performance in a profession should be questioned. (Author/EB)

During the past three decades minorities have benefited from educational reforms. Current concerns with educational excellence conflict with equality of educational opportunity. The author believes there need not be incompatibility in the pursuit of excellence as it relates to quality or equality. (MD)

Discusses a study of how commonly used criteria can result in disproportionately low admission of minorities, handicapped students, girls, and limited English proficient students. (JOW)

The University of California Regents have instituted a "Comprehensive Review" system for admission that purports to consider the whole student instead of merely grades and test scores. An examination of the Comprehensive Review reveals a back door attempt to reinstate racial preferences in college admission, a practice the Regents banned…

The professional school is caught between a social need to grant preferred admission to disadvantaged minority applicants--and the risks that go with reverse discrimination. (DM)

Reviews policies of college officials in controlling admission of minority students (Jews, Catholics, immigrants) to selected American colleges and universities from 1900-1970. Suggests that institutions of higher education may have to justify their admission policies by submitting them to periodic public or semipublic review. (DB)

A trend toward tighter college admissions standards, because more students are coming to college ill-prepared for academic work, is seen as a lack of commitment to helping students succeed. Developmental or remedial studies programs, established early to assist largely white populations, are mistakenly attributed to growing African-American…

Describing the contribution social workers could make to social change based on the emerging awareness of ethnic and cultural pluralism in American society, the author outlines necessary changes in social work education approaches, admission policies, curriculum organization, curriculum practices, and content to reflect a positive view toward…

The authors conducted a survey to study the percentage of minority students enrolled during 1974 in 109 major universities and the admissions policies of those universities. Results indicate that minority student enrollment has decreased overall while special programs for American Indians and Chicanos have increased. (SE)

Argues that the Supreme Court was right in not making a decision in the DeFunis v. Odegaard case regarding the right of the University of Washington Law School to identify applicants for admission by race and give preferential treatment to "minority" applicants. Emphasizes the need for "sharply defined and fully canvassed legal…

Examines the DeFunis case and preferential admissions policies, the standard of judicial review in testing these programs under the equal protection clause, the relevance of the educational setting to the scope of judicial review, the goals offered to justify preferential admission, and possible alternative means of accomplishing the goals. (JT)

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…

Argues that equalizing opportunity alone will not bring about equality with respect to the way our society distributes its resources: changing individuals in some fashion without altering social structural relationships will effect a relatively small change in the present unequal distribution of goods and services. (Author/JM)

Two civil libertarians, who take opposing positions on the civil liberties aspects of preferential treatment, contributed first statements of their positions-- entitled, respectively, "Eliminating Racial Inequality in a Racist World" and "Honorable Ends, Unsavory Means"; also includes brief rebuttals of each other's positions. (JM)

This is the final report and critique which investigated the law school admissions process, and especially the role of the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) within that process, for possible bias against minority applicants. The study involved the reanalysis of existing data. Results show that current admission policies unfairly limit the…