Michigan Mandate [John J. Miller]
PHI BETA CONS BLOG
Racial and ethnic diversity survive in Michigan, even after a ban on preferences:
The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor's preliminary admissions figures for this fall's entering freshmen suggest that it has a avoided a substantial drop in black, Hispanic, and Native American enrollment despite being barred from considering race and ethnicity in admissions.
The number of applications from students in one of those three minority groups fell by just 2 percent in the first full admissions cycle conducted under Proposal 2, a ban on the use of affirmative-action preferences by public colleges and other state and local agencies. Such students account for 10.47 percent of the projected entering freshman class, down from 10.85 percent a year ago.
"The results are not as dire as the opponents of Proposal 2 had predicted," Ward Connerly, a leader of the campaign on behalf of the measure, said today.
A statement issued by the university described several steps it had taken to try to maintain racial and ethnic diversity. Its undergraduate-admissions office hired additional employees, expanded its hours of operation, and used Descriptor PLUS, a geodemographic search tool developed by the College Board, to identify high schools and neighborhoods that are underrepresented on its campus. The university also stepped up its outreach in communities such as Detroit.
The university's figures show that its acceptance rate for black, Hispanic, and Native American students dropped only slightly, by 2.3 percent, over last year. The university admitted 47.3 percent of applicants from those three minority groups and 42 percent of all applicants.
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