The number of black students who applied to the University of Michigan and to Ohio State University has decreased this year, according to officials at both schools.
The drop comes after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Gratz v. Bollinger last June, which struck down the points-based affirmative action system previously used at Michigan but upheld a narrower use of race in determining admissions.
According to a Michigan press release, the number of "underrepresented minority" applicants to the university is down from 2,322 to 1,790 -- a 23 percent decrease. Total applications to the university have fallen 18 percent.
The press release said the university is concerned about the decrease in minority applicants.
"The Supreme Court decision in the undergraduate admissions case -- requiring us to revise our admissions policies -- may have had a chilling effect on minority applications," the statement said. "Students may not realize that the University won on the fundamental legal question of the importance of diversity, and that in revising our admissions process we are still allowed to consider race as one of many factors in assembling a diverse student body."
Michigan Spokesperson Joel Seguine stressed the importance of taking the application statistics in context.
"The data is preliminary -- the numbers could change and probably will," Seguine said. "The decline in applications is part of a national trend -- peer institutions are experiencing a similar trend."
Seguine suggested other factors contributing to the decrease in applications may have included higher non-resident costs in a tough economy, an initiative to outlaw the use of race in admissions and state hiring processes, and a new application style adopted after the ruling.
Prior to the Court's decision, Michigan had employed a points-based admissions policy in which it automatically awarded 20 of a possible 150 points to minority applicants.
University Law Professor Daniel R. Ortiz said the Court's decision still left room for consideration of race in admissions.
"In looking at a whole file and weighing everything against each other, race can be used as one factor," Ortiz said. "It can't be the decisive factor, but it can be thrown into the mix, as long as [admissions officials] are looking at everything."
Ortiz said he found the decrease in the number of minority applicants surprising, given that the practice of taking race into account in admissions was upheld.
Minority applications have also dipped at Ohio State, which changed its admissions application following the Gratz ruling, ending the process of awarding points to minority groups.
The number of black applicants as of Feb 7 decreased from 1,626 to 1,330, a drop of 18.2 percent from the previous year. Hispanic applications increased 5.7 percent, from 472 to 499. The total number of applications decreased by 9.6 percent, according to Amy Murray, Ohio State assistant director of media relations. Murray declined to comment on the statistics.
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