In an effort to promote scrutiny of the use of race and ethnicity in higher education admissions policies, the National Association of Scholars sent letters to presidents at top public institutions in 20 states requesting information about admissions processes and data, NAS Executive Director Bradford Wilson said.
"We asked for information about admissions policies with respect to how they group people when they are considering them for admissions," Wilson said. "We are interested especially in the emphasis given to race and ethnicity in admissions."
The NAS will publicize the data and use it to examine the role of race and ethnicity in admissions processes, Wilson said.
"We want to make an independent judgment as to whether the universities are complying with the [Michigan] Supreme Court ruling," Wilson said.
Wilson said while he hopes universities will agree to send their data to the NAS, he is not confident that they will report admissions information.
"Universities tend to be very secretive about their admissions policies," Wilson said. "They are reluctant to let this information see the light of day. Because of the history of secrecy and, indeed, dishonesty, we hope universities tell the truth about their admissions policies."
Virginia was not one of the states that received letters, but University spokesperson Carol Wood said the University would release information about its admissions process depending on the types of questions that were asked.
"We have to be careful with information because we cannot give out information that might identify a student," Wood said.
Wood said the University has made information regarding admissions policies available in the past. The Virginian Pilot and The Washington Post have written articles about the University's admissions process.
"We have been very transparent with that information," Wood said.
If the universities that received letters fail to report their admissions policies and data, Wilson said the NAS will take legal measures to secure the information.
"If universities stonewall our efforts that the public has a right to know, if necessary we will bring legal pressure," Wilson said.
Wilson said the Supreme Court ruling in the Michigan case requires examining the use of race and ethnicity in admissions processes.
"Prior to the Michigan litigation, just about every university in the country claimed not to use racial preferences," Wilson said. "Once the discovery process took place, it became as clear as a bell that universities use race in admissions policies."
The University uses race as one of many factors to assess students applying for admission, a process in compliance with the Supreme Court decisions, Wood said.
The NAS intends to provide the data it receives from universities to the Center of Equal Opportunity because it has experience analyzing similar data, Wilson said. After the data is evaluated, Wilson said the NAS will present it to the public.
"If we find that universities have not acted in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling, we will demand that the universities change their policies," Wilson said.
The NAS sent the letters because of its longstanding interest in the use of affirmative action in admissions policies, Wilson said.
"We have a longstanding history of being quite skeptical of the use of race and ethnicity in admissions and faculty hiring," Wilson said.
Read More
U.Va. Faculty Senate overwhelmingly adopts a no confidence vote in Board of Visitors
By Xander Tilock | Yesterday"The Faculty Senate expresses no confidence in the Board of Visitors for not protecting the University and its president from outside interference," the resolution read.
Faculty Senate Executives hear from Rector Sheridan and Vice Rector Wilkinson
By Xander Tilock and Grace Traxler | 2 days agoRectors were in attendance for part of Wednesday’s emergency meeting and were asked about the interim president selection process.
Student leaders weigh the future of self-governance after Ryan's departure
By Brendon Bordwine | 3 days agoThe University has a historical tradition of student self-governance, which allows students to take part in decision-making processes.
