Affirmative Action Decision Tops Higher Education News in 2023
2023-12-31
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1As 2023 comes to a close, we take a look back at the top stories and developments in higher education.
2They include a major high court decision on college admissions, the return of international students at U.S. colleges, the closure of small colleges and study programs, and an Ivy League president stepping down under pressure.
3In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that universities could no longer consider the race of a student when making admissions decisions.
4The announcement effectively ended the idea of Affirmative Action, which had been in place in higher education and the workforce for over 50 years.
5In making its decision, the court looked at cases involving Harvard University and the University of North Carolina.
6Chief Justice John Roberts wrote: "students must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual - not on the basis of race."
7He noted that many who make choices about which students will be permitted to attend universities have given too much importance to the color of a person's skin.
8"Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice," he continued.
9A group called Students for Fair Admissions brought the case through the U.S. court system over a number of years.
10The group believed that many Asian and white students were not getting a fair chance to attend the most selective colleges and universities in the U.S. because some places were being held for Black students.
11U.S. President Joe Biden spoke in favor of racially diverse colleges and universities after the decision came out.
12Many universities said they will change the writing requirements of their applications in order to learn of the life experiences of applicants.
13The first group of students affected by the new rules will be applying to college in early 2024.
14The next step for activists who want to change the way colleges choose students? Legacy admissions.
15A group based in Boston took legal action against Harvard University, saying it should no longer give preference to students whose parents attended Harvard or give money to the school.
16More and more young people from India are now attending college in the United States.
17As a result, the number of international students studying in the U.S. has returned to pre-pandemic levels.
18While students from China are still the largest group, the number of Chinese international students in the U.S. is dropping.
19But the 269,000 Indian students made up that difference.
20Costas Chassapis works at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey.
21Chassapis told VOA Learning English that many university leaders in the U.S. are "ecstatic" about the increase in Indian students.
22But he said the increase will not last forever.
23The increase is partly due to new rules put in place by Joe Biden's administration.
24They permit students who complete study programs in STEM - science, technology, engineering and math - to stay in the U.S. for extra work experience.
25As international students return to the United States, many American young people are expressing concern about the value of a college degree.
26The number of American college-age students seeking higher education started falling before the COVID-19 pandemic.
27Today's young people find that they have work possibilities that pay well even without a college degree.
28Some say the cost of attending college is simply too high.
29West Virginia is the only state in America with a population that is lower today than it was in 1950.
30The state's public university, West Virginia University (WVU), feels the effects of the population loss.
31Today, its main campus has about 25,000 students.
32That number is 10 percent lower than it was in 2015. WVU is facing a $45 million budget deficit.
33Last summer, WVU announced plans to cut some study programs.
34The school will end some language studies, music instruction and writing programs.
35In addition, 100 educators will likely lose their jobs.
36Lisa Di Bartolomeo is one of the language professors concerned about her students.
37She said: "The best and the brightest students don't see a future for themselves in West Virginia."
38But at least WVU remains open.
39Some small colleges and universities closed or made plans to close in 2023.
40One of those schools was Alliance University in New York City.
41Heather Garcia studied and worked there.
42She said the university tried to remain open, but its financial problems were too large.
43She said she is sad to see the school close.
44Bryan Alexander is a researcher who looks at the future of higher education.
45He said small American colleges first try to reduce their costs.
46When they can no longer cut their costs, they must close.
47He said many people in higher education are concerned about the number of small schools that have closed in recent years.
48"I think, within higher ed, the alarm has already been sounded," Alexander said.
49"Presidents, Deans, Provosts...this is the stuff that keeps them up at night."
50Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania stepped down from her job in early December.
51Magill, along with Harvard President Claudine Gay and Sally Kornbluth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology appeared in front of Congress on December 5.
52Lawmakers asked the presidents if they felt calls for violence against Jewish people should be against school rules.
53The Republican-led congressional committee chose the three leaders because their schools "have been at the center of the rise in antisemitic protests," a committee spokesperson said in a statement.
54The protests are related to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
55None of the three school leaders directly spoke against calls for violence against Jewish people.
56Instead, they said some speech, even "deeply hateful speech," is protected by the U.S. Constitution.
57On December 9, Magill resigned from her position under pressure from influential donors and alumni.
58Gay and Kornbluth received support and criticism.
59But both were permitted to keep their jobs.
60One group of professors at Harvard said colleges and universities should not be influenced by political pressure.
61A top legal expert from Harvard, Laurence Tribe, said universities should not be "bullied into micromanaging their policies."
62I'm Bryan Lynn.
63And I'm Faith Pirlo.
1As 2023 comes to a close, we take a look back at the top stories and developments in higher education. They include a major high court decision on college admissions, the return of international students at U.S. colleges, the closure of small colleges and study programs, and an Ivy League president stepping down under pressure. 2Affirmative Action decision 3In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that universities could no longer consider the race of a student when making admissions decisions. 4The announcement effectively ended the idea of Affirmative Action, which had been in place in higher education and the workforce for over 50 years. 5In making its decision, the court looked at cases involving Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote: "students must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual - not on the basis of race." 6He noted that many who make choices about which students will be permitted to attend universities have given too much importance to the color of a person's skin. "Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice," he continued. 7A group called Students for Fair Admissions brought the case through the U.S. court system over a number of years. The group believed that many Asian and white students were not getting a fair chance to attend the most selective colleges and universities in the U.S. because some places were being held for Black students. 8U.S. President Joe Biden spoke in favor of racially diverse colleges and universities after the decision came out. 9Many universities said they will change the writing requirements of their applications in order to learn of the life experiences of applicants. The first group of students affected by the new rules will be applying to college in early 2024. 10The next step for activists who want to change the way colleges choose students? Legacy admissions. A group based in Boston took legal action against Harvard University, saying it should no longer give preference to students whose parents attended Harvard or give money to the school. 11Indian students boost numbers 12More and more young people from India are now attending college in the United States. As a result, the number of international students studying in the U.S. has returned to pre-pandemic levels. 13While students from China are still the largest group, the number of Chinese international students in the U.S. is dropping. But the 269,000 Indian students made up that difference. 14Costas Chassapis works at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey. Chassapis told VOA Learning English that many university leaders in the U.S. are "ecstatic" about the increase in Indian students. But he said the increase will not last forever. 15The increase is partly due to new rules put in place by Joe Biden's administration. They permit students who complete study programs in STEM - science, technology, engineering and math - to stay in the U.S. for extra work experience. 16American students question college 17As international students return to the United States, many American young people are expressing concern about the value of a college degree. 18The number of American college-age students seeking higher education started falling before the COVID-19 pandemic. Today's young people find that they have work possibilities that pay well even without a college degree. Some say the cost of attending college is simply too high. 19West Virginia is the only state in America with a population that is lower today than it was in 1950. The state's public university, West Virginia University (WVU), feels the effects of the population loss. Today, its main campus has about 25,000 students. That number is 10 percent lower than it was in 2015. WVU is facing a $45 million budget deficit. 20Last summer, WVU announced plans to cut some study programs. The school will end some language studies, music instruction and writing programs. In addition, 100 educators will likely lose their jobs. 21Lisa Di Bartolomeo is one of the language professors concerned about her students. She said: "The best and the brightest students don't see a future for themselves in West Virginia." 22But at least WVU remains open. Some small colleges and universities closed or made plans to close in 2023. 23One of those schools was Alliance University in New York City. Heather Garcia studied and worked there. She said the university tried to remain open, but its financial problems were too large. She said she is sad to see the school close. 24Bryan Alexander is a researcher who looks at the future of higher education. He said small American colleges first try to reduce their costs. When they can no longer cut their costs, they must close. He said many people in higher education are concerned about the number of small schools that have closed in recent years. 25"I think, within higher ed, the alarm has already been sounded," Alexander said. "Presidents, Deans, Provosts...this is the stuff that keeps them up at night." 26Ivy League president leaves job under pressure 27Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania stepped down from her job in early December. 28Magill, along with Harvard President Claudine Gay and Sally Kornbluth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology appeared in front of Congress on December 5. Lawmakers asked the presidents if they felt calls for violence against Jewish people should be against school rules. 29The Republican-led congressional committee chose the three leaders because their schools "have been at the center of the rise in antisemitic protests," a committee spokesperson said in a statement. The protests are related to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. 30None of the three school leaders directly spoke against calls for violence against Jewish people. Instead, they said some speech, even "deeply hateful speech," is protected by the U.S. Constitution. 31On December 9, Magill resigned from her position under pressure from influential donors and alumni. 32Gay and Kornbluth received support and criticism. But both were permitted to keep their jobs. 33One group of professors at Harvard said colleges and universities should not be influenced by political pressure. 34A top legal expert from Harvard, Laurence Tribe, said universities should not be "bullied into micromanaging their policies." 35I'm Bryan Lynn. 36And I'm Faith Pirlo. 37Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English with additional reporting from the Associated Press. 38_____________________________________________ 39Words in This Story 40majority -n. more than one half of a group 41tolerate -v. to accept, permit or allow 42ecstatic -adj. very excited or happy 43legacy -n. how someone will be remembered, a person with ties to the past 44estimate -v. to make a guess about something based on experience or understanding about a topic 45ecstatic -adj. very excited or happy 46alumni -n. the people who graduated from a school or university 47bully -v. to frighten, hurt, or threaten (a smaller or weaker person) : to act like a bully toward (someone) 48micromanage -v. to try to control all parts of something usually in a way that is not wanted 49We want to hear from you. What do you think the big stories in higher education will be for next year?