US Colleges Report Effects of Ban on Race-based Admissions
2024-09-11
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1Some top universities in the United States are reporting drops in the number of Black students in their incoming classes.
2At other colleges, including Princeton University and Yale University, the share of Black students changed little.
3This fall's class is the first admitted since a Supreme Court ruling barred affirmative action in higher education.
4Several schools have seen changes in numbers of Asian, Hispanic and Native American students, but trends are still unclear.
5Experts and colleges say it will take years to measure the full effect of the ruling.
6The end of affirmative action is not the only possible reason for the changing numbers.
7Some colleges are changing requirements, making test results more important.
8Earlier this year, there was a problem with the federal government's college financial aid process.
9On September 5, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) reported drops in enrollment among Black, Hispanic and Native American students in its incoming class.
10It was one of the colleges at the center of the Supreme Court case.
11The population of Black students dropped nearly 3 percentage points this fall, to 7.8 percent.
12Hispanic student enrollment fell from 10.8 percent to 10.1 percent, while the incoming Native American population fell half a percentage point to 1.1 percent, according to the university.
13The incoming Asian student population rose 1 percentage point to 25.8 percent.
14The share of white students, at 63.8 percent, hardly changed.
15Rachelle Feldman is UNC's vice provost for enrollment.
16She said the delay in the student aid process was another possible influence on the enrollment numbers.
17"We are committed to following the new law," Feldman said.
18She also said the school administration is committed to making sure all North Carolina's students know that they are welcome at UNC and can succeed there.
19Other universities reported sharp drops in Black student enrollment.
20The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) said the percentage of incoming Black students fell from 15 percent to 5 percent.
21Another Massachusetts school, Amherst College, reported the percentage fell from 11 percent to 3 percent.
22At Tufts University in Massachusetts, the drop in the share of Black students was smaller, from 7.3 percent to 4.7 percent.
23At Yale, the University of Virginia and Princeton, the change year-over-year was less than a percentage point.
24Changes in enrollment for other demographic groups were more mixed.
25At MIT, for example, the percentage of Asian students increased from 40 percent to 47 percent.
26However, its Hispanic and Latino percentage dropped from 16 percent to 11 percent.
27And MIT's percentage of white students stayed about the same.
28But at Yale, the percentage of Asian students fell from 30 percent to 24 percent.
29White students at Yale went from 42 percent of the class to 46 percent.
30Hispanic and Latino students saw an increased representation of 1 percentage point.
31Colleges have started looking for other ways to preserve the diversity they say is critical to university life.
32JT Duck is head of admissions at Tufts University in Massachusetts.
33He said the school would work with community organizations to reach underrepresented, low-income students and students whose parents did not graduate from college.
34He suggested that people not worry too much about year-to-year changes in enrollment.
35At UNC, vice provost Feldman said the university wants to make sure "anyone from any background knows they can earn their way here."
36Katharine Meyer works at the Brookings Institution.
37She said it is hard to tell which policy change is having a greater effect.
38But so far, she said, the drops in underrepresented minority students are smaller than in previous cases.
39California passed a ban on affirmative action in 1995 and Michigan did so in 2014.
40But since those bans, Meyer said, colleges have developed more effective, non-race-based ways of recruiting and enrolling a diverse class.
41I'm Jill Robbins.
1Some top universities in the United States are reporting drops in the number of Black students in their incoming classes. At other colleges, including Princeton University and Yale University, the share of Black students changed little. 2This fall's class is the first admitted since a Supreme Court ruling barred affirmative action in higher education. 3Several schools have seen changes in numbers of Asian, Hispanic and Native American students, but trends are still unclear. Experts and colleges say it will take years to measure the full effect of the ruling. 4The end of affirmative action is not the only possible reason for the changing numbers. Some colleges are changing requirements, making test results more important. Earlier this year, there was a problem with the federal government's college financial aid process. 5On September 5, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) reported drops in enrollment among Black, Hispanic and Native American students in its incoming class. It was one of the colleges at the center of the Supreme Court case. 6The population of Black students dropped nearly 3 percentage points this fall, to 7.8 percent. Hispanic student enrollment fell from 10.8 percent to 10.1 percent, while the incoming Native American population fell half a percentage point to 1.1 percent, according to the university. The incoming Asian student population rose 1 percentage point to 25.8 percent. The share of white students, at 63.8 percent, hardly changed. 7Rachelle Feldman is UNC's vice provost for enrollment. She said the delay in the student aid process was another possible influence on the enrollment numbers. 8"We are committed to following the new law," Feldman said. She also said the school administration is committed to making sure all North Carolina's students know that they are welcome at UNC and can succeed there. 9Other universities reported sharp drops in Black student enrollment. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) said the percentage of incoming Black students fell from 15 percent to 5 percent. Another Massachusetts school, Amherst College, reported the percentage fell from 11 percent to 3 percent. 10At Tufts University in Massachusetts, the drop in the share of Black students was smaller, from 7.3 percent to 4.7 percent. At Yale, the University of Virginia and Princeton, the change year-over-year was less than a percentage point. 11Changes in enrollment for other demographic groups were more mixed. At MIT, for example, the percentage of Asian students increased from 40 percent to 47 percent. However, its Hispanic and Latino percentage dropped from 16 percent to 11 percent. And MIT's percentage of white students stayed about the same. 12But at Yale, the percentage of Asian students fell from 30 percent to 24 percent. White students at Yale went from 42 percent of the class to 46 percent. Hispanic and Latino students saw an increased representation of 1 percentage point. 13Colleges have started looking for other ways to preserve the diversity they say is critical to university life. 14JT Duck is head of admissions at Tufts University in Massachusetts. He said the school would work with community organizations to reach underrepresented, low-income students and students whose parents did not graduate from college. He suggested that people not worry too much about year-to-year changes in enrollment. 15At UNC, vice provost Feldman said the university wants to make sure "anyone from any background knows they can earn their way here." 16Katharine Meyer works at the Brookings Institution. She said it is hard to tell which policy change is having a greater effect. But so far, she said, the drops in underrepresented minority students are smaller than in previous cases. California passed a ban on affirmative action in 1995 and Michigan did so in 2014. But since those bans, Meyer said, colleges have developed more effective, non-race-based ways of recruiting and enrolling a diverse class. 17I'm Jill Robbins. 18Annie Ma and Makiya Seminera reported this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. 19______________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21affirmative action - n. the practice of improving the educational and job opportunities of members of groups that have not been treated fairly in the past because of their race, sex, or the like 22enroll - v. to take (someone) as a member or participant 23committed - adj. willing to give your time, energy, and the like to something 24diversity - n. the state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a group or organization 25recruit - v. to find suitable people and get them to join a company, an organization, the armed forces, et 26What do you think of this story? Write to us in the Comments Section.