After months of anticipation and analysis within the higher education community, the Supreme Court finally heard oral arguments on Wednesday, December 9, in Fisher v. University of Texas (Fisher II). The Court heard Fisher I in 2013 and sent the case back to a lower court with instructions to review whether Texas’s current race conscious admissions policy accords undue weight to race.
Legislation in several states had already prohibited the use of race in college admissions. Based on a recent survey study by researchers from ACE and Pearson, a nationwide prohibition of race-conscious admissions would affect a significant number of schools, as 60 percent of the most selective schools do consider race in their admissions process. The study "Race, Class, and College Access: Achieving Diversity in a Shifting Legal Landscape" also found that institutions use other strategies to ensure diversity, such as recruitment and outreach.
According to a report of Wednesday’s proceedings by The Chronicle of Higher Education ("Supreme Court Laments How Little It Really Knows About Race-Conscious Admissions," Peter Schmidt Dec. 9, 2015), current arguments presented little in the way of new information and “resembled a debate over educational research more than a fight over constitutional principles.”
The Court is not expected to render a decision until next summer. It is possible that after Fisher II institutions may have to figure out how to enroll highly diverse student bodies with stricter limits on the consideration of race. That would likely result in more changes to institutional admissions policies than Fisher I.
Admissions leaders are faced with a great deal of complexity in the post-Fisher Era. To help you stay current with the changes taking place, a session at AACRAO’s Annual Meeting in Phoenix, AZ (March 2-5, 2016), will focus on "A Case Study on Holistic Admissions Decisions in Health Related Institutions," presented by David Byrd, The University of Texas Health Science - San Antonio.
With its array of professionally-accredited programs in health care education, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio considers a holistic admissions process essential to recruiting strong student cohorts. In the session, HSC’s Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, and Health Professions share their reflections on how to calibrate quantitative and qualitative data to inform decision-making for admissions to help participants learn to identify the benefits of using holistic admissions practices in health related institutions, describe the benefits of holistic admissions, and construct their own holistic admissions criteria based on the best-practices employed by other professional schools.
AACRAO’s Annual Meeting offers knowledgeable speakers, delivers session content relevant to the issues you face on campus, and provides an excellent venue for networking. Review the executive summary report from last year’s Annual Meeting. For further exploration of these important issues, join us in Phoenix, March 20-23, at AACRAO's 2016 Annual Meeting.