Diversity and Admissions

The long-awaited decision of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has arrived on two cases addressing affirmative action in college admissions, or what’s known as “race-based admissions policies.”  That decision has confirmed to rule against affirmative action programs. The University of North Carolina case received 6-to-3 vote while the Harvard University casted 6-to-2 vote. 

Background

The two cases before SCOTUS were:

• Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina – they claim that UNC is discriminating against white and Asian students through its admissions processes.
• Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College – they claim that Asian-American students are being discriminated against because of Harvard’s admission policies.

The argument is that the policies violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the ​​Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the United States Constitution.

Affirmative action has been debated for decades for its effectiveness in eliminating discrimination and boosting the enrollment or hiring of people of color and other marginalized individuals.  At the collegiate level, it is used primarily for those schools that have a low acceptance rate, also known as “selective” schools. Some examples are Ivy Leagues schools, such as Princeton, Yale and also prestigious engineering schools, such as MIT.  Selective schools also tend to favor strong athletes and wealthy, elite students.

Defining Affirmative Action

Let’s define affirmative action. It’s basically a set of procedures that are designed to prevent unlawful discrimination – in the present and in the future, as well as create remedies for those who have been discriminated against, on the basis of (at the very least) race, creed, color, and national origin. This is for those applying to colleges and universities, or for employment.

This is a highly complex issue, with no real solid solutions to address it, particularly for selective universities like UNC and Harvard.  It’s certain that many universities or colleges may begin to re-evaluate their own admissions and hiring policies as a result of these cases. The impact of these cases will vary, based on the demographics of a particular university and the overall campus climate.

Does this impact Gallaudet’s admissions policy?

No.  As stated in the Admissions website, their process for evaluating the admission of students is holistic. The admissions office considers multiple factors, including: academic achievement, test scores, community service, extracurricular activities, personal essays, and letters of recommendation with each application.

As you can see from the charts below, the diversity of Gallaudet’s study body continues to grow and the ability to retain students of color is improving. The university remains committed to this work.

ID: The graph title says “Undergraduate Students”. The left side, x axis, shows numbers of enrollment, with horizontal lines marking 0, 100, 200, 300, 400, to 500. The bottom, y axis of the graph shows different demographics of students represented by bar graphs with different colors for the years 2020-2023. 

From left to right, the groups represented are Int’l, American Indian/Alaskan Native Asian, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian/Other PI, Two or More, White, and Unknown.

The first group, “Int’l” shows blue, orange, gray, yellow, light blue, green and dark blue bars around 50, with a slight dip at the end.

The second group, “American-Indian/Alaskan Native Asian” shows blue, orange, gray, yellow, light blue, green and dark blue bars with enrollment around 10 for each year.

The third group, “Asian” shows blue, orange, gray, yellow, light blue, green and dark blue bars around 50 with slight variations.

The fourth group, “Black/African American” shows blue, orange, gray, yellow, light blue, green and dark blue bars beginning slightly over 250 in 2020 with a drop in Spring 2021 and increasing since that year.

The fifth group, “Hispanic” shows blue, orange, gray, yellow, light blue, green and dark blue bars starting around 150 in 2020 and increasing toward 200 in 2023.

The sixth group, “Native Hawaiian/Other PI” shows blue, orange, gray, yellow, light blue, green and dark blue bars with enrollment around 10.

The seventh group, “Two of More” shows blue, orange, gray, yellow, light blue, green and dark blue bars hovering around 20-25.

The eighth group, “White”, shows blue, orange, gray, yellow, light blue, green and dark blue bars starting around 450 and dropping to around 350.

The ninth group,”Unknown” shows blue, orange, gray, yellow, light blue, green and dark blue bars around 50 with a slight drop in the end.

At the bottom the color key reveals the bars clustered in each group represent: Spring 2020 is blue, Fall 2020 is orange, Spring 2021 is gray, Fall 2021 is yellow, Spring 2022 is light blue, Fall 2022 is green, and Spring 2023 is blue.

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[ID: The graph title says “Graduate Students”. The left side, x axis, shows numbers of enrollment, with horizontal lines marking 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, to 250. The bottom, y axis of the graph shows different demographics of students represented by bar graphs with different colors for the years 2020-2023. 

From left to right, the groups represented are Int’l, American Indian/Alaskan Native Asian, Asian, Black/African American, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian/Other PI, Two or More, White, and Unknown.

The first group, “Int’l” shows blue, orange, gray, yellow, light blue, green and dark blue bars around 25 and increasing toward the 50 mark. 

The second group, “American-Indian/Alaskan Native Asian” shows blue, orange, gray, yellow, light blue, green and dark blue bars close to the 0 mark for all years. 

The third group, “Asian” shows blue, orange, gray, yellow, light blue, green and dark blue bars around 25. 

The fourth group, “Black/African American” shows blue, orange, gray, yellow, light blue, green and dark blue bars close to the 50 mark and increasing.

The fifth group, “Hispanic” shows blue, orange, gray, yellow, light blue, green and dark blue bars around the 50 mark, peaking and dipping.

The sixth group, “Native Hawaiian/Other PI” shows blue, orange, gray, yellow, light blue, green and dark blue bars close to 0 for all years.

The seventh group, “Two of More” shows bars around 20-25, with a peak in 2020-2021 and drop at the end.

The eighth group, “White”, shows numbers jumping from around 200 to almost 250 between years with an increase at the end.

The ninth group,”Unknown” bars start near the 50 mark and drop toward the end.

At the bottom the color key reveals the bars clustered in each group represent: Spring 2020 is blue, Fall 2020 is orange, Spring 2021 is gray, Fall 2021 is yellow, Spring 2022 is light blue, Fall 2022 is green, and Spring 2023 is blue.]