When freshmen apply to the University of Wisconsin in fall 2003, race might no longer be a deciding factor in admissions. The University of Michigan is awaiting a decision by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals regarding its undergraduate admissions policy.
The UM undergraduate admission policy is structured around a point system, in which a student may earn a maximum of 150 points. A majority of the points comes from high school grade point average and other factors. The basis for the legal case revolves around an automatic 20 points given if the student is an underrepresented minority.
W. Lee Hanson, a UW professor of economics, said admissions policies based on race do more to harm the university than help it. Hanson noted UW’s policy of favoring minority students.
“UW-Madison is admitting and enrolling minority students who are not academically competitive,” Hansen said in a 2001 Herald editorial. “This practice is not fair to anyone — minorities who are admitted on their academic records, non-minority applicants who are denied admission, faculty, administrators and most especially, the minority admits themselves who are underqualified relative to non-minority [admits].”
The Center of Individual Rights filed papers Aug. 9 asking the Supreme Court to hear the case.
Cliff Conrad, a professor of higher education and educational administration at UW, believes the case will go to the Supreme Court.
“The court gets 2000 petitions a year, and they took about 80 last year,” Conrad said. “This is one of those nice high-profile cases, and that should help out a lot.”
The Supreme Court often takes cases that have had opposing rulings in the lower courts. The decision brought down by the Supreme Court is designed to create a uniform law across the country.
Charles Franklin, a UW political science professor, said the Supreme Court is likely to hear the case, but he wouldn’t be surprised if they avoided the case all together.
“The Supreme Court does tend to take certain cases when lower courts have opposing rulings,” Franklin said. “The Court does also choose to duck controversial cases.”
Both Franklin and Conrad said even if the court rules against UM, universities nationwide could find a way to slip through the admission cracks.
“Even if the court rules against Michigan, universities have been creative about getting around court decisions,” Conrad said.
Franklin said the court’s ruling could reinstate affirmative action in regard to admission policies. Universities like Michigan are using policies likened to affirmative action as a way to increase diversity.
Affirmative action calls for minorities and women to be given special consideration.
“The court could rule in a narrow way, so as to find something wrong with Michigan’s policy,” Franklin said. “It could be a broad ruling and conceivably reinstate affirmative action.”
Franklin and Conrad both agreed the court might rule in favor of affirmative action.
“I wouldn’t bet the farm on affirmative action going away,” Conrad said.
