U.S. Supreme Court disputes about affirmative action in university admission policies are being revisited, sparking concerns for race-conscious policies that exist at schools across the country.
The court is currently listening to a case that had banned affirmative action within Michigan colleges’ admission policies. State residents are now claiming the ban is impeding on minorities’ right to equal protection.
The court has not ruled that affirmative action is unconstitutional in any previous court case.
The Supreme Court case, Schuette v. the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, has caused concern about universities with admission policies that favor the acceptance of more minority students.
Across the country, 33 percent of surveyed colleges have expressed concern with banning affirmative action, according to Kaplan Test Prep, an organization that works to prepare high school students for college through standardized testing.
“That’s a significant number,” said Seppy Basili, vice president of college admissions and K-12 programs at Kaplan Test Prep.
Ohio University is an affirmative action school. However, the part of its college application where prospective students can indicate ethnic background is purely optional and does not play a factor in the decision-making process, said Craig Cornell, vice provost for enrollment management, in an email.
“Undergraduate Admissions takes a holistic approach to application review,” Cornell said. “The question is optional and primarily used for reporting purposes and to communicate with students regarding opportunities that might be eligible to them post-admission.”
OU has seen about a 5.4 percent increase in racial diversity within its freshmen class enrollment since the 2006-07 academic year, according to enrollment statistics. OU’s current freshman class is composed of about 13.3 percent multicultural students.
If the U.S. Supreme Court bans affirmative action policies, OU is obligated to follow the language of the law. However, it is uncertain whether growth in multicultural student enrollment would be stunted because of a possible ruling, Cornell said.
“We do not anticipate having to change our approach,” he said. “But, again (we) need to see the full language as provided by the Supreme Court before we can definitively assure it will not impact us at all.”
Nationally, about 96 percent of universities consider racial diversity on college campuses important, according to the Kaplan study. In a sample of 700 2013 college applicants, 60 percent said diversity is important, according to the study.
Eight states in the U.S. have banned race-conscious affirmative action policies within university admission factors, according to the study.
The potential of banning affirmative action within admission policies concerns other state universities.
“Affirmative action policies should be maintained for the future survival of a quality education,” said Alfreda Brown, vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion at Kent State University, in a statement. “An ethnically and racially diverse environment is important.”
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