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CU: Scholarships at risk under affirmative-action ban
November vote could affect scholarships, college admissions
About 100 donor-sponsored scholarships at the University of Colorado that have race or gender eligibility requirements could be in jeopardy if voters pass an affirmative-action ban in November, according to a university legal analysis released Thursday.
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CU officials say it remains unclear exactly how those scholarships — most of which are awarded to Boulder students — would be affected by Amendment 46, the state ballot issue that would make it illegal to use race or gender preferences in college admissions and government hiring.
The ban would require CU admissions counselors to become blind to race and gender of potential students when reviewing their college applications. The university is exploring how other comparable universities across the country have tried to preserve diversity while working under the restraints of similar laws.
In Michigan, for example, officials are avoiding a sharp drop in minority enrollment by using computer software that helps identify students from neighborhoods that are poor or don’t send many students to public schools.
Should the Colorado measure pass, the CU Foundation — the university’s fundraising arm — would work with donors to make sure that the intent of the scholarships they’ve set up is preserved, as well as comply with the law, spokeswoman Nicky DeFord said.
The scholarships in limbo are wide-ranging.
The law, for example, could affect financial aid available to women sculptors, or for gay and lesbian students majoring in a human-service field, or another that is dedicated to Cheyenne and Arapahoe people killed in the Sand Creek Massacre and is set aside for American Indian students.
CU now has two layers of review that applicants go through.
Primary qualifying factors include academic credentials, such as grade point average and standardized test scores, as well as extracurricular activities and reference letters. The secondary level includes socioeconomic background, race, ethnicity, gender, whether a candidate’s parents are alumni or if they are the first in their families to attend college.
At CU’s Boulder campus, women make up about 47 percent of the student body, according to university statistics from fall 2007. About 14 percent of students are minorities.
The university will study how other flagship universities have maintained diversity on their campuses while operating under similar laws, said Bronson Hilliard, spokesman for the Boulder campus.
“There are more state-of-the art tools in the admissions process, and we are open to that,” he said.
The Sacramento-based American Civil Rights Institute has won passage of measures banning affirmative action in Michigan, California and Washington.
This year, Colorado is included in broader campaign to outlaw racial and gender preferences because the organization considers them discriminatory. The institute is also targeting Arizona, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
Mounting counter-campaigns say that affirmative action is a basic issue of fairness and that it increases diversity in higher education and government, offsetting discrimination that is still prevalent.
Admissions officers in Michigan are using a College Board program that works as a geodemographic tagging service that identifies and groups students according to neighborhood and high school. The office also hired extra staff to recruit students and its Detroit recruiting office stays open later and on the weekends.
The 2007-08 admissions cycle was the first full recruitment season since Michigan voters passed the affirmative action ban, and the admission rate of minority students at the University of Michigan was 2.3 percent lower than the prior year, according to the Ann Arbor school.
When similar laws were passed in California and Washington, public universities saw more dramatic drops in minority student enrollment. The number of black students admitted to the University of California’s Berkeley campus dropped from 562 in 2007 to 191 the next year.
CU President Bruce Benson said no matter the election outcome, the university will keep diversity as a core value. He gave diversity a broad definition — meaning gender, intellectual, racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and geographical.
“Having a variety of perspectives involved in the learning process enhances the educational experience of all students,” Benson said in a statement. “We will continue to value diversity in all of its forms within the guidelines of current and any new state and federal laws.”
Posted by rungreger on July 24, 2008 at 1:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"He gives diversity a broad definition — meaning gender, intellectual, racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and geographical."
So does that mean they'll be looking for stupid people?
Posted by THEinORY on July 24, 2008 at 2:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"So does that mean they'll be looking for stupid people?"
Yes, this is Boulder....
Posted by conative on July 24, 2008 at 2:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"...affirmative action is a basic issue of fairness..."
Judging an application based on one's color or gender, isn't that the opposite of fair???
Posted by Candidate_Coleman on July 24, 2008 at 3:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Specifically race based scholarships may be a casualty of ammenment 46, but if that frees up money for underpriveleged students then that is a good trade off. Further, since finance is the biggest obstacle for ALL ethnicities, basing scholarships on need and merit will still increase enrollment of qualified minority students. In order to increase diversity at the college level we need to focus on improving primary education. When admissions are blind to race but can offer assistance based on need and merit, we can get much closer to a society where people can succed or fail on their merits regardless of race or their parents financial success. I am not advocating for ammendment 46 (yet, I want to spend more time with the ballot language first), but as a person of color I wonder if affirmative action has not inadvertently created bias where there was less, and fostered a culture of low expectations and self worth in minority communities. And while race relations are not perfect I am very concerned that dealing with race is an easy distraction from dealing with the much more serious problem of economic inequity that is at once common to all races and a root cause of racial bias.
A thorough opinion on affirmative action at http://therouttreport.typepad.com
-Shawn Coleman
Posted by conative on July 24, 2008 at 3:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Wonderful post Shawn!
Posted by Tailgunner_Joe on July 24, 2008 at 3:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What? Only the most academically qualified students will be eligible for academic scholarships? This is an outrage!
Posted by pluppa on July 24, 2008 at 4:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
So few people really understand affirmative action. Let's just hope that this ignorance doesn't allow an amendment like this to be passed. This would be a true example of societal regression.
Posted by 456ded on July 24, 2008 at 4:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I heard an interview with the head of admissions at U of Michigan after Michigan passed a similar law where race cannot be considered in the admissions process. The admissions director said that school would circumvent the law by using the student's high school as basis for consideration with the aim of targeting students of high schools that have a large minority % of enrollment without (wink wink) considering what their race is. It would not surprise me if CU does something similar.
Posted by conative on July 24, 2008 at 4:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Pluppa can explain what people seem to be missing? I like to have a educated opinion on things can you fill me in on was this means to you...
Posted by katiekurt on July 24, 2008 at 4:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Discrimination is terrible. No matter who is affected by it.
Posted by jazzwoman53 on July 25, 2008 at 2:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
When I hit it big, I'm going to create a scholarship that is designated for middle-age white women only...that was what I was when I earned my degree.
When I would search for scholarships, I was plenty annoyed by the fact that at least three-quarters of the money available was only for "diverse" students. That is the PC word these days as we are now the minority.
Posted by Yerba on July 25, 2008 at 10:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yeah, pluppa, what are we missing?
Do you think it's best to put race/gender ahead of qualifications?
And what about the side effects? Like, let's say an African-American/black/ (whatever term you prefer) lands a great job. Even though he might be completely qualified and deserving of the job, some people will still always think: He just got that job because he's black.
Or what about a better-qualified white guy being usurped by a less-deserving minority?
And are white women still considered minorities? Do they like that label?
Then, there are "black" scholarships, which are considered fine. But a "white" scholarship would be inconceivable.
I'm all about lifting up and helping out the disadvantaged, but I don't think it should be racially based.
Posted by doramed on July 25, 2008 at 11:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Being a former minority student graduate at CU, I can't imagine Boulder with an even smaller minority population. It would be an outrage. CU is not an easy place for students of color to exist.
Posted by Candidate_Coleman on July 25, 2008 at 12:06 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I found CU to be a great experience. Experience is personal, I found my colleagues, and professors, nurturing of my strengths and critical of weakness, in short I got exactly the education I was seeking. That is the viewpoint of this Black Man who is a proud alum of CU's graduate school.
If we wait for perfect conditions we're never going to get anything done, words to live by . . .
http://therouttreport.typepad.com/lat...
Posted by boulder_native on July 25, 2008 at 2:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Coleman - you are so on the numbers on this one. I sure wish you'de made it to the city council.
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