Without affirmative action, Asian admission rates rise
Patrick Corey
Issue date: 2/13/08 Section: Higher Ed
In the absence of affirmative action laws, admission rates at public universities have risen for Asian-American students, while numbers for white, black and Hispanic students have declined, according to a recent study.
The study, released by the University of California at Los Angeles last week, also found that across all races, the male population drops in schools with blind admissions processes.
The study tracked admission statistics for selective public universities in three of the nation's four most populous states - California, Florida and Texas. These states have not had affirmative action in college admissions since 1999.
"What we were doing was taking a look at three states that had felt the effects of banning affirmative action," said study co-author David Colburn, professor emeritus and provost emeritus at the University of Florida. "We wanted to see how it all played out."
Working with Colburn on the report was Victor Yellen, emeritus lecturer, assistant provost and former director of institutional research at UF, and Charles Young, chancellor emeritus and professor at UCLA.
Young was UF's president when the state banned affirmative action and was chancellor at UCLA, which also prohibits affirmative action, for nearly 30 years before that.
"He had a comparative perspective," Colburn said.
Though the results of the affirmative action ban varied from state to state because of differences in policies intended to mitigate the effects, general trends emerged to confirm that Asian-American students are disadvantaged in a race-conscious admissions system.
California was hit hardest in its loss of black and Hispanic students and did the least legislatively to retain diversity. In 1996, Californians adopted Proposition 209, which prohibited university admission offices from considering race, sex or ethnicity in its decisions.
As a result, the number of black students admitted to the University of California at Berkeley dropped from 562 in fall 1997 to 191 in fall 1998. Hispanic admission numbers plunged as well, from 1,266 to 600. Since 1997, the percentage of black and Latino students admitted to the University has dropped 6.5 percent while the Asian-American percentage has jumped 6.2 percent.
The study, released by the University of California at Los Angeles last week, also found that across all races, the male population drops in schools with blind admissions processes.
The study tracked admission statistics for selective public universities in three of the nation's four most populous states - California, Florida and Texas. These states have not had affirmative action in college admissions since 1999.
"What we were doing was taking a look at three states that had felt the effects of banning affirmative action," said study co-author David Colburn, professor emeritus and provost emeritus at the University of Florida. "We wanted to see how it all played out."
Working with Colburn on the report was Victor Yellen, emeritus lecturer, assistant provost and former director of institutional research at UF, and Charles Young, chancellor emeritus and professor at UCLA.
Young was UF's president when the state banned affirmative action and was chancellor at UCLA, which also prohibits affirmative action, for nearly 30 years before that.
"He had a comparative perspective," Colburn said.
Though the results of the affirmative action ban varied from state to state because of differences in policies intended to mitigate the effects, general trends emerged to confirm that Asian-American students are disadvantaged in a race-conscious admissions system.
California was hit hardest in its loss of black and Hispanic students and did the least legislatively to retain diversity. In 1996, Californians adopted Proposition 209, which prohibited university admission offices from considering race, sex or ethnicity in its decisions.
As a result, the number of black students admitted to the University of California at Berkeley dropped from 562 in fall 1997 to 191 in fall 1998. Hispanic admission numbers plunged as well, from 1,266 to 600. Since 1997, the percentage of black and Latino students admitted to the University has dropped 6.5 percent while the Asian-American percentage has jumped 6.2 percent.