Does Diversity Talk Match Walk? Considering Institutional Admissions Policy and Practice

• In Event: The Law and Higher Education

Abstract

Simple in its approach yet not often employed, this scholarly paper demonstrates how institutions can apply an empirical lens – educational scrutiny – to “common sense” assertions regarding the effects of seemingly disparate components of the admissions decision-making process. With the continued discussion of affirmative action in the Supreme Court, we suggest a data-analytical strategy for campus-based understanding of the extent to which internal policies and practices, alone and in concert, work to cultivate or undermine efforts to admit and enroll a diverse student body. Modeled after the law’s strict scrutiny, we argue that universities could use educational scrutiny to develop a deeper understanding of how multiple policies work in concert or at odds with an institution’s diversity goals.

Authors

• Patricia Marin, Michigan State University

• Catherine L. Horn, University of Houston