Just how and why is this sad and is it stereotyping applicants? Universities do have diversity goals and the articles quoted above contain several statements made by University of Michigan reps. that make that perfectly clear.
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Ted Spencer, executive director of the University's undergraduate admissions office, said the University hopes Descriptor Plus will prevent the sharp drop in minority attendance that was seen at the University of Texas and the University of California system after their states banned the use of affirmative action...
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Of course race and ethnicity are factors that are taken into account to build a class. But as long as race and ethnicity are not the key factors used to identify prospective candidates, determine or make admissions decisions, or even to design admissions models, they process is considered to be race neutral. Successful admission models must allow higher ed administrators to meet diversity goals (male-female balance, geographic distribution, socioeconomic levels, academic and EC interests, as well as race) and, at the same time, withstand legal scrutiny over time. Colleges and universities do have a bottom line and a mission and it follows that they must meet institutional goals - and racial and ethnic diversity must be just a part of the whole. The U-M's use of the CB's Descriptor Plus directly in the admissions process is a both a cost-efficient and rather astute path to find an admissions model geared to maximize HE goals and minimize legal risk.