After the University of Michigan affirmative action cases in 2003, the College Board decided to form a diversity collaborative group in order to assist colleges and universities nationwide in making legally and educationally sound policies on financial aid, recruitment and admissions.
The manual on financial aid is scheduled to be released in mid-April to all College Board member universities, including the University, said Gretchen Rigol, College Board consultant and coordinator for the diversity collaborative.
"We want to make [the manual] available as widely as we possibly can," Rigol said.
The volume, entitled "Federal Law and Financial Aid: A framework for evaluating diversity related programs," is the first of three such manuals the College Board plans to release from now until 2006.
While some University officials said they will reference the manual, they said the University is focused on a different type of financial aid diversity that falls within federal and state guidelines.
"We and the General Counsel believe federal law prohibits this Office from using race as a factor in awarding aid," Financial Aid Office Director Yvonne Hubbard said. "The Financial Aid Office is such that we award aid based solely on need."
Femi Richards, co-author of the manual, said the series of manuals are meant to be a process for "institutional self-assessment" and other general federal legal guidance.
"After the Michigan cases came down in 2003, a lot of universities made one of two mistakes," Richards said. "They either under-reacted and used [the Supreme Court decision] as a justification for their policy as it was or overreacted by saying using race was too risky and abandoned their programs."
The manual is designed to help schools avoid these missteps, Richards said.
University Dean of Admission John A. Blackburn said diversity in the student body is one of the overarching principles of the University.
"Diversity in education is a compelling state interest," Blackburn said, adding that the University mission statement "speaks to the importance of diversity."
The approval of AccessUVa in March 2004 was the significant change that took place after the Michigan cases were decided, although not in direct correlation with their verdicts, Blackburn said.
"You often think of African-American or Hispanic students, but [AccessUVa] covers all students no matter what their ethnicity is," he said. "One of the important goals is to add diversity to the student body through this aid program."
Richards said the manual will allow universities to ask the right questions in handling financial aid and diversity, which Hubbard said the University will respect and take into account.
"I think every institution, based on the guidance the Supreme Court has given us, should be undertaking a self-assessment," Richards said. "The courts are looking to make sure [universities] always assessing the use of race."
The guidelines of the three manuals are a resource the University is glad is at the disposal of institutions of higher education, Blackburn said.
"I do think this manual is a good thing," he said. "I think in colleges that don't have legal counsel, it could be particularly helpful, and for us it is a reminder of what we can do."
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