Texas, Michigan Deal With Affirmative Action Bans
Faced with a ban on the use of affirmative action in college admissions, the Texas legislature 10 years ago passed an innovative law.
Students who graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class were guaranteed admission to one of the state's competitive public universities, creating an automatic point of entry for students who attended predominantly black or Latino high schools. The law helped Texas maintain diversity on its campuses, but it had an unforeseen consequence: Talented students who graduated from high school with a class rank in the 11th percentile or lower essentially were being forced to go to school out of state. For example, this year, 70 percent of the University of Texas-Austin's first-year students were top 10 admits.
On Sunday, the Texas legislature rejected a bill that would have modified the top 10 law, placing a cap on the number of students each university had to admit under the policy. But that debate over how best to create diversity on campuses will no doubt continue in Texas, as it will in Michigan and other states that have passed affirmative action bans.
In November, Michigan voters passed a statewide initiative, Proposal 2, that bans public institutions from considering race and gender in their hiring, contracting, and admissions processes. Last week, the University of Michigan announced its preliminary enrollment figures for next fall's first-year students, showing the highest number of undergraduate freshman applicants in the university's history: more than 27,400. Of the 6,389 accepted students who had paid deposits as of May 20 to enroll in the fall, 688--a total of 10.8 percent of the incoming class--were black, Hispanic, or American Indian. In previous years, minorities have typically made up 12 to 15 percent of the student population.
"You have to look at everything in perspective," says Ted Spencer, associate vice provost and executive director of undergraduate admissions. "With the increase in applications, the percentages may not appear as strong, but we didn't lose nearly as many [minorities as other] schools that have dealt with this [did in] their first year."
Some of those new Michigan first-year students were selected in the fall admissions process, during which their race could be considered as part of the decision. To maintain student diversity in future admissions cycles, the university has purchased a software program called Descriptor PLUS, "a geodemographic tool provided by the College Board that identifies underrepresented high schools and neighborhoods throughout the country," explained Lester Monts, senior vice provost.
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