Abdul-Alim, Jamaal (2011). Diverse in India. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, v28 n20 p18-19 Nov. When it comes to dealing with his fellow students at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Warner, a 21-year-old aerospace engineering major, says the fact that he comes from a group of farmers known as the Pallar community means nothing. But when it comes to his enrollment status as a student at IIT, it makes all the difference in the world. The Pallars are among the groups recognized as a "scheduled caste" by India's government. For Warner, being able to gain access to the elite IIT Madras is part of fulfilling a childhood dream that began when he took his first plane ride and became enamored with aerodynamics. As he strives to reach new heights, Warner's climb also represents an attempt to break free from the financial constraints of doing the work traditionally done by his forefathers. Warner thought if someone from the community is in a good position, financially and socially, they can help the community…. [Direct]

Okeke, Emeka Paul (2013). Addressing Gender Imbalance in Nigeria's Higher Education through Institutional Framework. African Higher Education Review, v7 n1 p88-98 May. This paper examined the gender imbalance among students in Nigeria's higher education and the possible ways to addressing them. The poor access of female gender to higher education in Nigeria has become a thing of great concern to all stakeholders such as School authorities, Government, International agencies and employers of labor. The paper therefore, looked at the Access, Participation and completion rate of female students in higher education as well as interventions to address the challenges. It is recommended that affirmative and motivating policies be put in place for the female students to be at parity with the male. It concluded by stating that equity interventions have not accompanied policies for expanding access to higher education for this vulnerable gender, thus, critical policies targeting participation of female students should be expanded…. [Direct]

(2011). Guidance on the Voluntary Use of Race to Achieve Diversity in Postsecondary Education. US Department of Justice The United States Department of Education (ED) and the United States Department of Justice issued this guidance to explain how, consistent with existing law, postsecondary institutions can voluntarily consider race to further the compelling interest of achieving diversity. It replaces the August 28, 2008 letter issued by ED's Office for Civil Rights entitled "The Use of Race in Postsecondary Student Admissions." This guidance addresses the degree of flexibility that postsecondary institutions have to take proactive steps, in a manner consistent with principles articulated in Supreme Court opinions, to meet this compelling interest. As the Supreme Court has made clear, such steps can include taking account of the race of individual students in a narrowly tailored manner. In four sections, the guidance: (1) describes the relevant legal framework for considering race to further the compelling interest in achieving diversity in postsecondary institutions; (2) sets forth… [PDF]

Contreras, Frances (2011). Achieving Equity for Latino Students: Expanding the Pathway to Higher Education through Public Policy. Multicultural Education Series. Teachers College Press Despite their numbers, Latinos continue to lack full and equal participation in all facets of American life, including education. This book provides a critical discussion of the role that select K-12 educational policies have and continue to play in failing Latino students. The author draws upon institutional, national, and statewide data sets, as well as interviews among students, teachers, and college administrators, to explore the role that public policies play in educating Latino students. The book concludes with specific recommendations that aim to raise achievement, college transition rates, and success among Latino students across the preschool through college continuum…. [Direct]

Roemer, Ann (2011). An Invisible Minority: Mexican English-Language Learners. College and University, v86 n3 p57-62 Win. Ever since the founding of this country, equality, freedom, and justice have been the underlying values of America's political and educational systems. More than 150 years later, higher education policymakers in the United States began to incorporate these values into their admissions decisions by including ethnic and racial diversity as a stated goal, not only for the purpose of redressing past injustices but also to prepare citizens to be successful in an increasingly multicultural society. However, as white students continue to dominate this nation's university campuses, the future appears bleak for minority groups, especially blacks and Latinos. As a group, Hispanics are the least educated minority in the country (Gandara 1995): They have the highest high school dropout rates of all minority groups (Llagas 2003). In response, the government of Mexico has initiated a binational agreement with the United States–and Texas, in particular–to help Mexican-English language learners… [Direct]

Gandara, Patricia; Orfield, Gary (2010). Deja Vu–The Access/Success Pendulum. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, v27 n18 p20-21 Oct. In education, reform tends to follow cycles, often bouncing from one extreme to another without considering the possibility of incorporating multiple perspectives simultaneously. Policies aimed at helping more underrepresented students enter college and complete degrees have bounced from one pole to another, embracing access as the primary goal without giving adequate attention to successful completion, which results in many underrepresented students coming through the campus gate but relatively few leaving with degrees. There has been considerable publicity about the U.S.'s declining rankings in international comparisons of young people with college degrees. Today, America is not among the top 10 developed countries for degree attainment, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Americans are waking up to the fact that something must be done to increase the rate at which their youth gain degrees–especially youth of color–if the U.S. is to remain… [Direct]

Favish, J.; Hendry, J. (2010). UCT's Admissions Policies: Is the Playing Field Level?. South African Journal of Higher Education, v24 n2 p268-297. The article outlines how UCT's commitment to redress and diversity has officially guided the university's approach to admissions planning. In 2009 the Senate requested the Vice Chancellor to conduct a review of the admissions policy particularly to determine whether race continued to be an adequate proxy for disadvantage. This article analyses data prepared by the Institutional Planning Department of the University to support the review process, reflecting changes in the demographic profiles of all students and first-time entering (FU) intakes between 1994 and 2009. The data provide a more nuanced picture of offers, rejections and enrolments by race and poverty quintile of the 2009 new undergraduate intake. The article then goes on to assess the effects of various policy instruments used to facilitate access to UCT, demonstrating that the Academic Development Programmes have been the most significant instruments of facilitating access. Drawing on the analysis of the data, the article… [Direct]

Block, Lee Anne; Schmidt, Clea (2010). Without and within: The Implications of Employment and Ethnocultural Equity Policies for Internationally Educated Teachers. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, n100 Feb. Analyzing school division employment policies from six Winnipeg school divisions and the Manitoba K-12 Action Plan for Ethnocultural Equity (MECY, 2006), we discuss implications for the integration of internationally educated teachers in K-12 schools. Findings suggest that the policies exhibit several major limitations in advancing IET integration: lack of equity and IET-specific content in the case of most divisional policies and lack of stakeholder buy-in and implementation strategies in the case of the ethnocultural equity policy. Subsequent recommendations use the construct of interest convergence from critical race theory to advocate for educational policymaking and implementation that prioritize a more diverse teaching force. (Contains 2 footnotes.)… [PDF]

Devine, Dympna; Grummell, Bernie; Lynch, Kathleen (2009). Appointing Senior Managers in Education: Homosociability, Local Logics and Authenticity in the Selection Process. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, v37 n3 p329-349. While there is extensive research on educational leadership and management, the selection of leaders has received comparatively little attention. This article examines how educational leadership is constructed through the selection process in the context of a qualitative study of Irish education. It highlights the tensions that can exist for selection board assessors as they try to balance increasing performativity and new managerialist demands with the traditional ethical and moral dimensions of educational leadership. Key concepts of "local logics" and "homosociability" frame the analysis as it is shown how assessors often select "safe" candidates according to familiar qualities. This normalization is problematic when educational leadership is faced with intense organizational and socio-cultural change. It is also problematic in gender terms, especially in higher education, where the prevailing leadership model is a masculine one. Differences between… [Direct]

Hoover, Eric; Keller, Josh (2009). University of California Adopts Sweeping Changes in Admissions Policy. Chronicle of Higher Education, v55 n23 pA33 Feb. The University of California has adopted changes to its undergraduate admissions policy that will enlarge its applicant pool and drop the requirement that students take the SAT Subject Tests. The policy is the most significant change in the university's admissions practices in at least a decade. It will increase the number of California high-school graduates who are considered for undergraduate admission by an estimated 40 percent, giving officials at the system's nine undergraduate campuses more flexibility to choose a freshman class. At the same time, the plan will cut the number of students in the state who are guaranteed admission based primarily on grades and test scores. In moving away from that guarantee and toward a more comprehensive review, the university will more closely align its admissions practices with those of other prominent public and private institutions. Supporters of the admissions plan hope it will increase the socioeconomic and racial diversity of the student… [Direct]

Poteat, V. Paul; Spanierman, Lisa B.; Todd, Nathan R. (2011). Longitudinal Examination of the Psychosocial Costs of Racism to Whites across the College Experience. Journal of Counseling Psychology, v58 n4 p508-521 Oct. This longitudinal investigation adds to the growing body of scholarship on the psychosocial costs of racism to Whites, which refer to the consequences of being in the dominant position in an unjust, hierarchical system of societal racism. We examined how White students' affective costs of racism (i.e., White empathy, guilt, and fear) changed across the college experience and how gender, colorblind racial ideology, and diversity experiences were associated with those costs. Findings indicated that White empathy, guilt, and fear each had a distinct trajectory of change across the college experience. Moreover, patterns of change for each cost were moderated by colorblind racial attitude scores at college entrance. We also found that participation in college diversity experiences (e.g., diversity courses) was associated with the costs; moreover, different types of diversity experiences were linked to particular costs. These findings provide insight into the affective experiences of White… [Direct]

Clegg, Roger (2008). Vision and the End of Racial Preferences. Academic Questions, v21 n3 p319-323 Sep. Are we facing the end of racial preferences in America? Mr. Clegg thinks we probably are, and examines the role demographics, law, attraction, and vision may play in their demise. What makes preferences still attractive to so many people? Do most Americans share a vision that includes the continued use of racial preferences? Mr. Clegg offers a list of \E pluribus unum\ features that \all Americans\ must share to participate fully in the life of our ever-changing multiracial, multiethnic country…. [Direct]

Broad, Kathryn; Childs, Ruth A.; Escayg, Kerry-Ann; Gallagher-Mackay, Kelly; McGrath, Christopher; Sher, Yael (2011). Pursuing Equity in and through Teacher Education Program Admissions. Education Policy Analysis Archives, v19 n24 Aug. This case study investigated equity in teacher education admissions. Through document analysis and structured interviews with ten past or current members of the admissions committee in a large initial teacher education program in Ontario, we developed an understanding of equity in teacher education admissions as encompassing two foci: equity in admissions–that is, equity of access for applicants to the program–and equity through admissions–that is, equity of educational opportunity and outcomes for the children in the schools where the teachers trained by the programs will eventually teach. Our analysis illustrates the importance of recognizing both foci and the tensions between them…. [PDF]

Stuart, Reginald (2011). Sidestep. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, v28 n8 p15-17 May. It has been almost five years since Michigan voters chose to ban race-conscious programs from state-funded institutions. The impact of the decision was swift and painful for many, particularly in the state's public higher education landscape. Minority enrollment in public colleges–which was already low–plummeted in many categories as state-funded minority scholarships disappeared and a bad economy made alternative funds scarce. Programs and services that were targeted solely toward minorities and women vanished. Today, however, there are some signs of hope for minorities hoping to access higher education in Michigan. Five years after the racially polarizing campaign to pass the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative–widely known as Proposition 2–the state's public colleges and universities are learning how to adapt to a colorblind campus. From the University of Michigan to Grand Valley State University, Michigan schools are reinventing their recruiting programs and creating new… [Direct]

Hicks, Joe R. (2008). The New Frontier: Envisioning an America beyond Racial Preferences and Color-Coded Public Policy. Academic Questions, v21 n3 p324-331 Sep. Significant voices have begun challenging the orthodox view of America as a land of limited opportunities for minorities, with the Obama phenomena constituting the most conspicuous case in point. Mr. Hicks explains why racial preferences have failed and discusses the challenges Americans face in transcending divisions caused by identity politics. (Contains 15 footnotes.)… [Direct]

Stepanovich, Paul L. (2009). The Lobster Tale: An Exercise in Critical Thinking. Journal of Management Education, v33 n6 p725-746. Professors in management and business are encouraged to incorporate critical thinking as an objective in their courses. \The Lobster Tale\ provides an opportunity to engage students in various levels of critical thinking, ranging from a relatively superficial reading to an examination of the deeper, often hidden issues. Using the foundations of critical theory and systems theory, the story draws on economics, social theory, philosophy, and other disciplines to present a simplified version of the complexities found in our global environment. It can be used to supplement a variety of courses in the business curriculum and to encourage students to challenge not only assumptions but also conventional wisdom and, perhaps, knowledge itself…. [Direct]

Wood, Peter (2008). Clientage and Contumely: How Group Preferences Foster Dependency and Resentment. Academic Questions, v21 n3 p275-287 Sep. Advocates of preferences generally claim the moral high ground, insisting that we need them to advance the common social good. To oppose preferences, therefore, is \to act immorally.\ Preference's champions view them as weapons against hierarchy and oppression. Their foes stress individual identity and autonomy. The outcome of the debate will hinge on the answers given to a couple of uniquely American questions: Who are we? What is the right way forward? Peter Wood predicts that when Americans take an unblinking look at group preferences, they will reject them. (Contains 8 footnotes.)… [Direct]

Troche-Rodriguez, Madeline (2009). Latinos and Their Housing Experiences in Metropolitan Chicago: Challenges and Recommendations. Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy, v21 p17-33 2008-2009. Low Income;This article examines instances of housing discrimination against Latinos in the Chicago suburbs through several interviews with thirty-four Latino families who live in towns with a recent history of controversies around fair housing. Whether they are living in the central city or in the suburbs, Latinos continue to experience housing segregation. Latinos often move away from the central city and into suburban neighborhoods for a better life, but they continue to experience hardship in acquiring adequate housing conditions that meet their needs. This article explores different forms of housing discrimination through the use of exclusionary practices such as predatory lending, inconsistent and selective enforcement of strict housing codes, systematic misinformation about home-buying, anti-immigration sentiment, and urban renewal and revitalization. The results of these practices are illustrated in currently foreclosure rates among Latinos. These challenges and housing… [Direct]

Harper, Shaun R.; Patton, Lori D.; Wooden, Ontario S. (2009). Access and Equity for African American Students in Higher Education: A Critical Race Historical Analysis of Policy Efforts. Journal of Higher Education, v80 n4 p389-414 Jul-Aug. Higher education has been characterized as \one of the greatest hopes for intellectual and civic progress in this country. Yet for many Americans, however, it has been seen as part of the problem rather than the solution\ (Boyer, 1997, p. 85). Some have acknowledged that higher education is a public good through which individual participation accrues benefits for the larger society (Institute for Higher Education Policy, 1998; Kezar, Chambers, & Burkhardt, 2005; Lewis & Hearn, 2003). Despite this, recent analyses have confirmed that too few African Americans are offered access to the socioeconomic advantages associated with college degree attainment (Harper, 2006; Perna et al., 2006). In some ways, the recurrent struggle for racial equity is surprising, given the number of policies that have been enacted to close college opportunity gaps between African Americans and their White counterparts at various junctures throughout the history of higher education. Though presumably for the… [Direct]

Schmidt, Peter (2008). "Bakke" Set a New Path to Diversity for Colleges. Chronicle of Higher Education, v54 n41 pA1 Jun. Thirty years ago, Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. sent the nation's selective colleges down a path where few had ventured before. In the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling in "Regents of the University of California v. Bakke," he wrote that colleges were legally justified in giving some modest consideration to their applicants' race, so long as they were motivated by a desire to attain the educational benefits of diversity. Before "Bakke," selective colleges regarded race-conscious admissions policies mainly as a way to remedy past societal discrimination against black, Hispanic, and Native American applicants. The "Bakke" ruling declared that justification off limits, replacing a rationale grounded in history with one grounded in educational theory. The approaching 30th anniversary of that Supreme Court decision, announced on June 23, 1978, finds many in higher education wondering where Justice Powell's guidance has gotten them–and what, exactly, lies… [Direct]

Ellis, John M. (2008). How Preferences Have Corrupted Higher Education. Academic Questions, v21 n3 p265-274 Sep. \The first law of unintended consequences is that you can never know what they will be or how far they will reach.\ Professor Ellis examines the injuries American higher education has sustained through the unintended consequences of diversity. (Contains 4 footnotes.)… [Direct]

Balch, Stephen H. (2007). Twenty Years in the Vineyards of Higher Education Reform. Academic Questions, v20 n4 p270-276 Dec. In pausing to reflect on twenty years service tending the fragile vineyards of higher education reform as president and one of the founders of the National Association of Scholars, Stephen H. Balch stops to toast his hardy fellow vintners. Dr. Balch raises a weary but wiser glass to those who across the years and in many states have braved harsh academic climes and hostile intellectual winds to safeguard the tender fruits of reform. The vines remain tenuous and the atmosphere continues to prove largely forbidding, leaving reformers much more often with the bitter taste of vinegar than wine. Dr. Balch shares a cautionary cup. But through the sturdy dedication of vintners like the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, the Center for Equal Opportunity, and the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, who can say what worthy wine the press of the next twenty years will yield?… [Direct]

McCuddy, Michael K.; Nondorf, James G. (2009). Ethics in College and University Admissions: A Trilogy of Concerns and Arguments. International Journal of Educational Management, v23 n7 p537-552. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore ethical challenges and dilemmas that exist within admissions systems at colleges and universities in the USA. Design/methodology/approach: Although the issues considered herein are examined primarily from the perspective of admissions officers, this paper also considers the viewpoint of prospective students (and their parents) who are seeking to gain entrance to specific institutions of higher education. The ethical concerns of admissions officers and prospective students within the admissions process is explored through conceptual analysis of a trilogy of ethical concerns and arguments regarding the higher education admissions process in the USA. Findings: Part I of the trilogy explores the admissions profession as a calling, discusses some of the ethical issues currently involved in the admissions field, and makes the argument that most of these ethical issues are rooted in a breakdown of the admissions system in two areas–access… [Direct]

Connerly, Ward (2008). On the Road to Equal Rights. Academic Questions, v21 n3 p259-264 Sep. In his keynote address at \Race and Gender Preferences at the Crossroads,\ a January 2008 conference organized by the California Association of Scholars, Ward Connerly confidently asserts that the era of explicit race preferences will soon be \deader than a doornail.\ However, it is up to those who remember (in the words of John F. Kennedy) that \race has no place in American life\ \to bury it\–hardly an easy task. In convincing the American people that a better vision exists than \diversity,\ our strongest asset will be their belief in the fundamental principle of fairness…. [Direct]

Dent, George W., Jr. (2008). Racial Preferences: Doubt in the Priesthood. Academic Questions, v21 n3 p332-340 Sep. Race preferences and the postmodern version of multiculturalism have always triggered opposition in academia, but it has seldom come from the political left. Now things are changing. Growing unease in the academic \priesthood\ over preferences and multiculturalism may herald their end. Longstanding opponents of racial discrimination and identity politics will welcome some of the conclusions drawn by the new critics, while rejecting much of the reasoning used to reach them. Professor Dent discusses some of these critiques and the best way of responding to them. (Contains 9 footnotes.)… [Direct]

Cohen, Carl (2008). Bad Arguments Defending Racial Preference. Academic Questions, v21 n3 p288-295 Sep. Professor Cohen describes the arduous path to the passage of Proposition 2 in Michigan in 2006. In considering the reasons for its victory, he shows how claims (sometimes well-intended) "for" preferences rest on truly bad arguments. (Contains 8 footnotes.)… [Direct]

Espenshade, Thomas J.; Radford, Alexandria Walton (2009). No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal: Race and Class in Elite College Admission and Campus Life. Princeton University Press Against the backdrop of today's increasingly multicultural society, are America's elite colleges admitting and successfully educating a diverse student body? \No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal\ pulls back the curtain on the selective college experience and takes a rigorous and comprehensive look at how race and social class impact each stage–from application and admission, to enrollment and student life on campus. Arguing that elite higher education contributes to both social mobility and inequality, the authors investigate such areas as admission advantages for minorities, academic achievement gaps tied to race and class, unequal burdens in paying for tuition, and satisfaction with college experiences. The book's analysis is based on data provided by the National Survey of College Experience, collected from more than nine thousand students who applied to one of ten selective colleges between the early 1980s and late 1990s. The authors explore the composition of applicant pools,… [Direct]

Denhart, Matthew; Malesick, Michael; Templeton, Jordan; Vedder, Richard (2009). The Law of Unintended Consequences Revisited: The Case of Ricci v. DeStefano. Center for College Affordability and Productivity (NJ1) Deciding it necessary to review the earlier ruling of the Second Circuit court, on January 9, 2009 the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in the case "Ricci v. DeStefano." The case originates from New Haven, Connecticut where a group of firefighters argue that city officials violated their Title VII rights by dismissing the results of tests they had taken for consideration in job promotion. After reviewing the results city officials feared that they had unintentionally created a disparate racial impact, as those of white backgrounds tended to outperform other racial groups. Consequently, they threw out the test results believing it necessary so as to not violate the Supreme Court precedent put forth in "Griggs v. Duke Power." The 1971 "Griggs v. Duke Power" decision ruled that employment tests that created a disparate racial impact violated Title VII provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Furthermore, the Supreme Court declared that a specific… [PDF]

Pitre, Paul E. (2009). "Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1": Policy Implications in an Era of Change. Education and Urban Society, v41 n5 p544-561. This article examines the "Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle Public School District No. 1" decision in light of its impact on the "Brown" ruling that preceded it. The Supreme Court's 5-4 vote on the matter of desegregation and equal access to educational opportunity signals that a divide exists in the United States with respect to the underlying educational values of excellence and equity. The current policy environment was examined and found to be dominated by the value of excellence at the expense of equity. Policy implications of the "Parents Involved" decision are considered, and policy recommendations for improving equitable access to education in the present environment are offered…. [Direct]

James, Carl E.; Taylor, Leanne (2008). "Education Will Get You to the Station": Marginalized Students' Experiences and Perceptions of Merit in Accessing University. Canadian Journal of Education, v31 n3 p567-590. This article explores how four minority students in a university access program reconciled their presence on merit. They shared their experiences over two years through their application statements, life history interviews, weekly group sessions, and personal journal entries. Consistent with the discourse of merit, participants believed that by exercising agency and taking responsibility for their schooling, education will work to their benefit. They reconceptualized the access program as a scholarship program and affirmed pride in being university students, with a sense of obligation to their immigrant parents and a desire to give back to their communities. (Contains 5 notes.)… [PDF] [Direct]