Programs aim for diversity

In the aftermath of court and voter decisions to eliminate race as a factor in admissions at several universities across the country, administrators are finding alternative plans to ensure diversity on their campuses and accessibility to all applicants.

Last month, the University of California system Board of Regents approved a plan guaranteeing admission to the top 4 percent of California state high school students to one of UC's eight undergraduate campuses.

The plan, pushed by California Gov. Gray Davis, was implemented in an attempt to make more students eligible for admission. This is the first change in the admissions policy since the 1995 ban passed by the UC regents eliminating race as a factor in the admissions process.

In 1997, Texas lawmakers passed a bill requiring the state's public universities to grant automatic admission to all high school students graduating in the top 10 percent of their high school class.

Texas state legislators passed the law to counter the effect of the 1996 Hopwood ruling which eliminated the use of race in admissions and financial aid at Texas' public universities.

Administrators from both schools champion these plans as creating a level playing field by admitting students from a wide range of racial and economic backgrounds.

But results from The Michigan Daily Student Survey show University students do not approve of programs similar to these.

In initial results from the survey - a sample representing 87 percent of the student population - only 38 percent of respondents said they approve of programs that automatically admit a top percentage of high school graduates to state universities.

The survey was conducted by the Daily in conjunction with the Institute for Social Research and Department of Communication Studies. Results of the survey are based on 873 interviews conducted with a stratified probability sample of all currently enrolled students. The sample was drawn by the Registrar's Office and is weighted to account for demography. Interviews were conducted between March 30 and April 13.

The margin of error due to sampling is + 4 percentage points and it larger for subsamples.

Subgroups of survey respondents, who identified themselves as receiving financial aid or affiliation with the Greek community, also showed only marginal approval for the use of programs like those in California and Texas.

LSA junior Adam Weber, a survey respondent, said he does not think the admissions programs are appropriate.

"Colleges should look at applicants on an individual basis," Weber said. "Colleges are always saying they want well rounded individuals. Just being in the top doesn't guarantee that."

While survey respondents indicated they do not approve of the programs, Augustine Garza, deputy director of admissions at University of Texas at Austin, said the top 10 percent plan is working well.

Garza said that more Asian, black and Latino/a students were admitted for the 1999 school year than the previous year, a change Garza said he is happy to see.

"Every institution wants diversity, but the law won't let us achieve it through the previous methods," he said.

Because the plan takes top percentages from all of the states high schools, Garza said the plan utilizes geography to ensure diversity.

"High schools are segregated, because that is usually how it breaks down in the communities," Garza said. "The top 10 percent of students at each of those schools are taken across the board."

Garza said the top 10 percent law has equalized aspects of the admissions process more than previous admission strategies.

"It is more fair because it doesn't include SAT tests, which some students have historically had problems with," he said.

But some Texas students said they don't think the plan is enough.

Victor Quintanilla, a senior at Texas, said the plan is a small step in the right direction.

"I don't think it's the perfect medicine, it's a Band-Aid," Quintanilla said, explaining that he does not believe the plan has had a substantial effect in diversifying the student body yet.

University of California at Berkeley spokesperson Jesus Mena said the 4 percent plan will help those from schools who may not have the computers or advanced placement classes.

"If students are from a rural school where there might not be as much fiscal backing, this compensates for it," Mena said.

The 4 percent plan is expected to be implemented for applicants in the incoming class of 2001.

04-20-99