Race In Student Selection: Ethical Or Not?

The use of race as a factor in the student selection process has been a topic of debate in the United States for decades. While some argue that it is necessary to promote diversity and ensure equal opportunities for people of colour, others claim that it amounts to racial discrimination. The U.S. Supreme Court has weighed in on the issue, ruling in June 2023 that colleges and universities cannot intentionally consider race in their admissions processes. This decision has sparked discussions about the impact on diversity in higher education and the need for alternative approaches to promote equal opportunities.

The US Supreme Court's ruling against the use of race in college admissions

In June 2023, the US Supreme Court ruled against the deliberate use of race by schools in college admissions, deeming such practices unconstitutional. This ruling came about as a result of lawsuits against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which argued that their admissions policies discriminated against Asian American applicants, and in the case of UNC, also against white students.

The Supreme Court's decision was not unanimous, with a 6-3 ruling. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, stated that the universities' admissions programs violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. The Court observed that a race-based classification will rarely pass strict scrutiny and that the use of race must have reasonable durational limits. The Court also noted that universities could still consider an applicant's discussion of how race affected their life but that the student must be treated based on their experiences as an individual, not on the basis of race.

The ruling has had far-reaching implications for diversity on college campuses and in the workforce pipeline. Critics of the decision argue that it will negatively impact diversity in higher education and that it ignores the country's history of perpetuating race-based gaps. In response to the ruling, colleges are finding new ways to reach underrepresented communities of colour and are reevaluating legacy admissions policies and athletic recruiting.

The impact of the ruling on diversity in colleges

The US Supreme Court's ruling against the use of race in college admissions will have a significant impact on diversity in colleges. While the ruling is intended to promote fairness and equality, it may have the unintended consequence of reducing diversity and making it more challenging for underrepresented communities, particularly students of colour, to gain admission to selective colleges.

The ruling will likely result in a decline in representation of racial minorities at selective colleges. Research suggests that Black and Hispanic enrollment could drop by up to 10% at these institutions. This is because selective colleges, particularly private colleges, have traditionally used race-conscious admissions to increase diversity on their campuses. Without the ability to explicitly consider race, these colleges may struggle to maintain their diversity goals.

Colleges are now exploring alternative approaches to promote diversity. Some are reevaluating legacy admissions policies and athletic recruiting practices, which tend to favour white applicants. Others are increasing outreach and recruitment efforts in communities of colour and rural areas. Additionally, some colleges are adopting policies such as automatically admitting a certain percentage of a high school's graduating class, although the effectiveness of these policies in maintaining diversity levels remains to be seen.

The impact of the ruling extends beyond college campuses and is expected to have implications for the workforce pipeline. A diverse student body contributes to a diverse workforce, particularly in sectors like science. By hindering efforts to increase the number of Black and Hispanic students, the ruling may lead to reduced diversity among workers, potentially impacting innovation and cultural competency in various industries.

While the ruling aims to create a race-blind admissions process, it is important to consider the historical context of racial discrimination in education and the ongoing racial inequities in society. The ruling may inadvertently widen the opportunity gap for underrepresented students and reinforce existing inequalities. Therefore, colleges must actively explore alternative strategies to promote diversity and ensure equal opportunities for all applicants.

The historical use of affirmative action in college admissions

The use of affirmative action in college admissions has been a highly contested issue in the United States for decades. The practice originated in the 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement, with President John F. Kennedy's Executive Order 10925, which instructed federal contractors to ensure equal treatment of applicants "without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin". The Civil Rights Act of 1964 furthered this initiative by prohibiting employment discrimination by large employers.

In the context of higher education, affirmative action refers to the consideration of a student's background characteristics, such as race, in the admissions process. This approach was adopted by selective colleges and universities to address their history of racial exclusion and increase access for African Americans. Over time, other underrepresented groups, including Latinx and Native Americans, were also included in these policies.

The first significant legal challenge to affirmative action in college admissions came in 1978 with the case of Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. Allan Bakke, a White applicant, contested the University of California medical school's admissions policy, which set aside a specific number of seats for minority applicants. The Supreme Court ruled against the use of racial quotas but permitted the consideration of race as one factor among many in admissions decisions. This ruling established diversity as a compelling interest for affirmative action.

Despite this precedent, affirmative action in college admissions has continued to face legal challenges. In 2003, the Supreme Court upheld the University of Michigan's Law School affirmative action policy in Grutter v. Bollinger, emphasising the educational benefits of a diverse student body. However, in the same year, the Court struck down the University of Michigan's undergraduate admissions policy in Gratz v. Bollinger, which awarded points to applicants based solely on race, deeming it too mechanistic and similar to a quota system.

In June 2023, the use of affirmative action in college admissions was once again called into question when the Supreme Court ruled against the deliberate use of race in admissions by Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This decision sparked concerns about its potential impact on diversity within higher education institutions and the broader societal implications.

The arguments for and against affirmative action

The arguments for affirmative action

Affirmative action is designed to end discrimination against people based on race and nationality. It gives people of colour an opportunity to have decent jobs and add to the diversity of any workplace. Diversity is desirable, and affirmative action helps to create a level playing field for people of colour to compensate for the existence of racial barriers in society. People of colour are exceptional assets to universities, colleges, and employers, and their contributions add to the quality of a workplace.

In a diverse setting, one can grow from interacting with people from different backgrounds by learning about their cultures and experiences. This knowledge helps eliminate stereotypes. In classrooms with people from different identity groups, students and faculty members can learn new perspectives from each other. For people who have been challenged in their lives (e.g. by economic hardship or by attending schools with few resources), affirmative action provides educational opportunities and a chance to prove that they can achieve.

The arguments against affirmative action

Some people argue that affirmative action does not end discrimination but perpetuates it. They say that it is unfair to use race as a consideration when admitting students to a college or university. Many of the students admitted on the basis of affirmative action are not equipped to perform in, for example, Ivy League schools, and their possibility for success is low. Affirmative action discourages students of colour from achieving their best: there is little incentive to strive for a 4.0 average if one believes that a 3.2 average is all that is needed for being admitted. Giving minorities "special treatment" is, in essence, saying that they are too stupid to succeed in school or to find a job on their own. Overall, they say that minorities are demeaned because they are chosen on the basis of affirmative action.

Affirmative action is an imperfect tool that was originally conceived as a means to redress discrimination but has instead promoted it. It divides campuses and benefits minority applicants from middle- and upper-class backgrounds while hurting poor whites and Asians. The fundamental unfairness and arbitrariness of preferences – why should the under-qualified son of a black doctor be chosen over the qualified daughter of a Vietnamese boat refugee? – have led supporters to shift rationales in recent years. Instead of a remedy for disadvantage, many supporters now claim that affirmative action promotes "diversity". But if "diversity" were really the goal, then preferences would be given on the basis of unusual characteristics, not on the basis of race. The underlying assumption – that only minorities can add certain ideas or perspectives – is offensive not merely because it is untrue but also because it implies that all minorities think a certain way.

The alternatives to affirmative action

In June 2023, the US Supreme Court ruled that selective colleges and universities could not use race as a factor in their admissions processes. This has prompted colleges to consider alternative ways to improve student diversity.

Socio-economic-based admissions

Socio-economic-based admissions involve giving preference to students with a lower socioeconomic status, typically determined by family income, and the occupations and education levels of members of students' households. This approach is based on the fact that, in the US, a person's race and ethnicity are closely linked to their socioeconomic status, with Black, Hispanic, and Native American students more likely to have a lower socioeconomic status than white and Asian students.

Targeted outreach

Colleges can increase their recruitment efforts by targeting high school students who are the first in their families to go to college and high schools located in lower-income areas. This may include sending college representatives to high schools with a high number of underrepresented minority students.

Scholarships

Colleges can increase the number and dollar amount of scholarships offered to students from low-income households or with low socioeconomic backgrounds. An example of this is the Longhorn Opportunity Scholarship at the University of Texas, which is given to students at particular high schools chosen based on having a low sending rate of students to the University of Texas, which also happen to have high percentages of minority students.

Holistic application review

Colleges can adopt a "holistic" application review process, which takes into account students' extracurricular activities, accomplishments outside school, and lived experiences, in addition to traditional measures of academic ability such as test scores, academic awards, and grade-point averages.

Dropping standardised test scores

Colleges can drop the requirement for applicants to take and submit their scores on college entrance exams such as the SAT and ACT. This benefits underrepresented minorities and lower-income students, who often earn lower scores than white and Asian students and students from higher-income backgrounds.

Top Percent Programs

Colleges can guarantee admission to a certain percentage of the top-performing students from each high school, rather than considering all applicants from across the state. For example, in Texas, the top 10% of all high school students are automatically admitted to any of the universities in Texas. This takes advantage of the high levels of racial and ethnic segregation among high schools in those states.

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