Months after the U.S. Supreme Court sent Fisher v. University of Texas back to a lower court, federal departments have clarified that public universities with race-conscious admissions, like UNC, can leave their policies intact for now.
The U.S. Departments of Education and Justice sent a joint letter of guidance last week to university leaders that addressed affirmative action practices.
The letter said the court justices’ ruling affirmed that achieving a diverse student body is a compelling interest for universities, and therefore race can be used as one of multiple factors in college admissions.
Steve Farmer, vice provost of enrollment and undergraduate admissions at UNC, said the letter doesn’t force UNC or other universities to make immediate changes.
Still, he said the letter makes clear that admissions offices must be able to justify their use of race as a factor in the future.
“I think where the Fisher decision really provided some useful guidance is it reminded us that any race-conscious practice in admissions has to be able to withstand strict scrutiny — the toughest kind of scrutiny that the judicial system can provide,” Farmer said.
But Roger Clegg, president and general counsel of the conservative Center for Equal Opportunity, said the guidance offered by federal officials in the letter is misleading.
“The federal government has no expertise in whether there really are any educational benefits to using racial preferences in college admissions,” Clegg said.
He said he hopes schools won’t rely on the letter to dictate admissions standards, and that the center will continue to encourage challenges to race-conscious admissions.
