The Pendulum
NEWS
Thursday, March 20, 2003 • Page 7
Supreme Court decision wilf affect admissions
process at Elon, sciiools around tlie nation
Brian Grady
Reporter
Administrators at universities
throughout the country will be
watching the Supreme Court
closely this spring as it once again
re-examines the role race is
allowed to play in the college
admissions process.
The court’s ruling in two cases
against the University of
Michigan will have implications
for all colleges that accept federal
financial aid, including Elon and
most other public and private uni
versities in the country. Susan
Klopman Elon dean of
Admissions and Financial
Planning Susan Klopman said the
ruling could potentially end the
use of race as the sole basis for a
student’s admission over another
equally qualified student.
“Currently, we operate in an
environment that says race may
be one of several factors consid
ered,” she said.
The court decided last
December to hear the two cases
being brought against the
University of Michigan, which it
will rule upon later this spring.
The first case was filed by
Barbara Grutter, a Michigan busi
nesswoman. According to the
Raleigh News & Observer,
Grutter applied to the university’s
law school in 1997 with a 18
undergraduate grade point aver
age and test scores in the 86th per
centile. Although the law school
accepted seven minority appli
cants with scores and GPAs com
parable to Grutter’s, she and 71 of
the 88 white applicants with simi
lar credentials were not admitted.
The second ca.se being consid
ered was filed by undergraduate
applicant Jennifer Gratz, a white
student who was rejected from
Michigan despite having a 3.8
high school GPA. Some have
speculated that the court is hear
ing eases pertaining to both the
graduate and undergraduate levels
to determine whether race-based
decisions are more or less accept
able at undergraduate as opposed
to professional schools. It is not
clear how the court will rule in
either case, although President
George W. Bush has weighed in
against the university’s policy.
The main reason Michigan has
been targeted for its admissions
policies is its use of a point sys
tem that gives more points to an
applicant for being an African-
American than for other factors
like having a high SAT score. This
imbalance, Klopman said, is an
attempt by Michigan to balance
out other factors, such as points
awarded for familial relationships
to the university, that often tip the
scales unfairly in favor of whites.
However, Klopman said what
ever Michigan’s motives, the
school has opened itself up to
charges of abusing affirmative
action.
“You’ve switched to a number,
not a person,” she said. “They just
have gone too far in the quantifi
able range.”
Although race is a factor used
in Elon’s admissions process,
Klopman said the school does not
quantify students’ qualities in the
same way Michigan does.
“It definitely is more subjec
tive, and we’d like to think it’s a
little more well-rounded because
it is subjective,” she said.
Klopman said that because
Elon’s process is more subjective
and incorporates a number of fac
tors, it will likely not be affected
much by the Supreme Court’s rul
ing one way or another.
“One of the reasons we might
select a student is that they will
bring diversity to campus, but that
is not the only reason,” she said.
“I do not see Elon’s world chang
ing dramatically.”
In Elon’s admissions process,
an applicant must first meet a few
basic criteria, such as having
taken the necessary core courses,
having at least a 2.3 high school
GPA and having an SAT score of
850 with neither a math nor a ver
bal score below 400. Beyond this.
Elon looks at an applicant’s aca
demic record, talents, relationship
to the institution, opportunity to
benefit from Elon and other fac
tors like race.
“I’m a big believer in access to
education,” Klopman said. “I
want to be able to take a student
with a slightly different academic
profile because they will bring
something significant to this cam
pus.”
Klopman noted that Elon has
also taken steps recently to
improve the way it reaches out to
minority students and applicants.
One such step has been the addi
tion of a minority recruitment
counselor this year, who is work
ing to increase the number of
blacks and Hispanics who apply
to Elon, and an increase in finan
cial aid for minority students that
was included in this year’s recent
ly approved budget.
Elon representatives have also
traveled more and had more direct
contact with minority students
and applicants, Klopman said.
This has led to an increase in the
number of minorities applying to
the university.
“Our efforts have been suc
cessful to this point,” she said. “A
higher number [of minorities)
have been admitted, and now it’s
just up to the students.”
Klopman said that although
the school has worked hard to bal
ance academics and diversity in
the admissions process, there will
always be room to improve.
“Is it a point of conversation?
Always, and I think it should be,”
she said. “I think the minute we
stop paying attention to that, we
stand to lose a lot.”
Contact Brian Grady at pendu-
lum@elon.edu or 278-7247.
The Pendulum wants
you!
Write for news.
Contact us at pendu-
ium@elon.edu
or 278-7247.
Tim Kosner / Photo Editor
Susan Klopman, dean of admissions and finandal planning, reviews
student applications. While Elon admission officers use race as a
selection tool in the admissions process, they do so subjectively.
CHRONOLOGY
of key rulings
Oct. 14,1997: Lawsuit filed against University of
Michigan regarding undergraduate admissions process.
Dec. 3,1997: Lawsuit filed against University of
Michigan regarding Law School admissions process.
Dec. 13, 2000: Judge Duggan states diversity is a com
pelling governmental interest and the the University’s
current undergraduate admissions program currently
meets standards set by the Supreme Court. He also
ruled the admissions programs in 1995-1998 were, in
fact, unconstitutional.