Gov. Cooper’s Race-Preferences Brief is Inherently Discriminatory
On August 1st, Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina submitted an amicus brief siding with the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in its attempt to use race as a factor…
Posts tagged with
“admissions standards”
Self-Identified “Compelling Interests” are Not a License to Discriminate
To what extent can a selective educational institution advantage certain racial groups in admissions decisions without discriminating against other groups simultaneously? How can said institutions balance external demands for fairness…
Rescuing “Virtue and Talents” Amidst the War on Tests
On March 28, 2022, Stuart Schmill, Dean of Admissions and Student Financial Services at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced the school’s plan to restore the consideration of standardized…
“Contract-Grading” and the War Against Academic Excellence
When I was in high school in the mid-1990s, we were all required to swim in gym class. This was before wokeness. Since then, concerns over “accessibility,” “inclusion,” “acceptance,” and…
Judge Rules for UNC in Admissions Case
In 2014, Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) filed suit against the University of North Carolina. Its complaint argued that the university had engaged in intentional discrimination on the basis of…
How Short-term Thinking on Race Has Caused Long-term Problems in Higher Education
Editor’s note: This essay is based on a talk given by Gail Heriot on October 29, 2021, for the Martin Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ladies and gentlemen, if you’re…
Did You Know? Some UNC Student-Athletes Don’t Meet Minimum Admission Requirements
Some student-athletes at UNC schools get admitted despite not meeting the minimum admission requirements. The university system counts these students as “exceptions.” The system’s universal minimum admission requirements—which are the…
Don’t Rock the Boat: UNC BOG Members Rarely Vote ‘Nay’
The members of the University of North Carolina Board of Governors are charged with a solemn duty: to oversee and guide the state’s public university system. Although some of their…
College Admissions Essays Are Getting Shorter—and More Political
The college admissions essay can be a stressful part of the application process for students. Like standardized test scores, however, their influence is waning. Many colleges have stopped requiring them.…
The Last Refuge of Pure Meritocracy
Racial consideration for college admissions hearkens back to Grutter v. Bollinger, the landmark decision by the Supreme Court in 2003. It held that affirmative action programs can pass muster as…