Diversity on Campus

In its landmark 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger decisions, the Supreme Court affirmed that it is within a state’s compelling interest to ensure adequate representation of diversity in an institution of postsecondary education and therefore ruled that race may be used as one factor among many in making admission decisions. A number of states, alternatively, have adopted legislation barring public institutions from considering race in admission, leading, in some cases, to the development of alternative “race-neutral” approaches including percentage plans and minority recruitment efforts. Regardless of the chosen policy, NACAC recognizes, and seeks to educate policymakers on, the substantial benefits derived from a diverse student body and the complexity of the admission process.

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NACAC Resources - Federal Resources - Other Resources -
Key Court Cases - Race Neutral Mandates

NACAC Resources

• NACAC's Myth vs. Fact sheet on diversity in higher education dispels common misconceptions about the use of race in the college admission process.
• NACAC's Diversity in Higher Education report summarizes results from NACAC’s 2003 member survey regarding institutional commitments and approaches to diversity.
• NACAC also summarized federal and state level legal activities regarding race as a factor in college admission decisions.

Federal Resources

• The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice released Guidance on the Voluntary Use of Race to Achieve Diversity in Postsecondary Education to guide institutional compliance with the legal precedents set by Grutter v. Bollinger and Grantz v. Bollinger.
• Achieving Diversity: Race Neutral Alternatives in American Education was prepared by the U.S. Department of Education in 2004 and offers both developmental and admissions-oriented alternatives to race-conscious policies.

Other Resources

• Major Affirmative Action Cases: A Digest of the Record was prepared by the American Council on Education and provides short descriptions of affirmative action cases between 1971 and 1995.
• The Compelling Need for Diversity in Higher Education provides supporting research that was used by the University of Michigan in the Gratz and Grutter cases.
• ECS’ Selected Research & Readings on Affirmative Action provides links to various resources, including histories of affirmative action jurisprudence and information on state level policies.
• Diversity Web’s Research and Trends Section includes research on a variety of topics, including the benefits of diversity in higher education and the use of institutional evaluations to measure the effectiveness of diversity policies.
• Assessing the Impact of Eliminating Affirmative Action in Higher Education predicts the impact of a nationwide mandate for race-neutral admission policies.
• Jockeying for Position: Strategic High School Choice Under Texas' Top Ten Percent Plan, a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, reveals the unintended consequences resulting from Texas’ top ten percent plan ($5 for non-subscribers).
• Undergraduate Access to the University of California After the Elimination of Race-Conscious Policies examines the impact of California’s Ballot Proposition 209, which barred public institutions from considering race in admission decisions.  
• Beyond Percentage Plans: The Challenge of Equal Opportunity in Higher Education was prepared by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and examines the implementation of the University of California’s 12.5 Percent Plan (now amended to include the top 4 percent), Texas’ Top Ten Percent Law (now amended with certain exemptions for the University of Texas at Austin), and Florida’s Talented 20 Program.

Key Court Cases

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978)

Hopwood v. State of Texas (1996)

Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)

Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)

Race-Neutral Mandates at the State Level

California: Proposition 209

Colorado: Amendment 46

Florida: One Florida Executive Order

Michigan: Ballot Proposition 06-2

• Legal challenges to this mandate are currently pending. The most recent decision, which was issued by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and has since been vacated by the full appeals court, is available here.

Nebraska: Initiative Measure 424

Washington: Initiative 200