United States President Joe Biden's administration is urging colleges and universities on Monday to promote strategies for racial diversity on campus despite the Supreme Court striking down affirmative action in admissions.
One example of how this can be done is by colleges focusing their recruiting in high minority areas and taking action to retain students of color already on campus. This includes offering affinity clubs geared toward students of a certain race.
New Guidance on College Admissions
Additionally, officials suggested colleges consider how an applicant's race has affected their personal experience, which can be reviewed in students' application essays or letters of recommendation, based on the new guidance released by the Biden administration.
The administration also encourages colleges to consider putting an end to policies that are known to curb racial diversity on campus. This includes preferences for legacy students and the children of donors. In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland said that ensuring access to higher education for students from different backgrounds can lead to an increasingly diverse nation, as per Yahoo News.
The guidance that the Justice and Education Departments crafted arrives as colleges across the United States try to navigate a new era of admissions without affirmative action. Schools are now trying to promote racial diversity without provoking legal action from those opposed to the policy.
The group that brought the issue to the Supreme Court through lawsuits against Harvard and the University of North Carolina was the Students for Fair Admission. In July, the group sent a letter to roughly 150 universities across the nation, saying that they need to "take immediate steps to eliminate the use of race as a factor in admissions."
The Biden administration, in its guidance, offered a range of potential strategies that can be used to promote diversity on campus. Additionally, it clarifies how colleges can consider race in the context of an applicant's experience.
In a statement, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said that promoting campus diversity remains important despite the Supreme Court's ruling. He said fewer students of color applied, and fewer were admitted to schools after the decision. According to Reuters, Cardona warned that the nation could not afford to backpedal on a national scale.
Promoting Racial Diversity on Campus
In guidance documents issued on Monday, the Education and Justice Departments said that following the Supreme Court's ruling, schools cannot allow their admissions decisions to be influenced by any demographic data related to an applicant's race that is collected.
Officials also recommended targeted outreach and recruitment to boost the enrollment of underrepresented groups. When performing such actions, they could also consider race and other factors such as geography, financial resources, and family background.
The Biden administration argued that the new guidance is the first step in ensuring colleges know what they can legally do to promote admissions for students of color without affirmative action.
The situation comes as Harvard's admissions process, similar to many elite colleges, gives preference to applicants considered to be athletic recruits, the children of alumni, related to donors, and children of faculty and staff. On Monday, a senior department official said that they are working in the enforcement area on legacy preferences for admissions, said Politico.
