The purpose of this paper is to document the indirect effects of the Texas Top Ten Percent Plan on professional school degrees awarded and to propose the far reach of the law as an alternative argument in support of race-conscious admissions policies challenged under the strict scrutiny standard. Designed around the two tests of strict scrutiny,…

The policies, priorities, and productivity of postsecondary admission offices are under a great deal of scrutiny. The current realities range from the pressures of tuition-driven institutions to deliver the majority of the university budget each fall, to more selective institutions wrestling with standards of which applicants to accept amid…

The racial diversification of America's higher education system has been at the forefront of legal argument for the last seventy-five years. Ground-breaking decisions birthed the inclusion of affirmative action policies in higher education after the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In recent years, both the utility and constitutionality…

In this article we extend Bell's work on interest convergence by using Harris' work on whiteness as property to articulate a cycle of interest convergence, interest divergence, and imperialistic reclamation, or convergence-divergence-reclamation (C-D-R, pronounced "cedar"). We then apply the C-D-R cycle lens to the evolution of federal…

At the heart of the longstanding debate of addressing racial inequities in higher education is an argument about whether race should be a factor in admissions decisions. One argument is that institutions should be held accountable for diversity through external policies like affirmative action. Alternatively, there is the position that…

Diversity today is considered central to the capacity of postsecondary institutions to thrive in an increasingly multiracial and multiethnic society. However, as universities take steps to reap the educational benefits of racial and ethnic diversity, legal decisions and state laws increasingly restrict the tools these institutions have…

In March 1996, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated the University of Texas School of Law's admission policy in "Hopwood v. State of Texas." The state failed to show a compelling government interest for the affirmative-action admissions policy favoring Mexican-American and African-American applicants. Minority admissions…

During the 1997 session, many Texas lawmakers, especially Black and Hispanic Democrats, have introduced legislation to avert a crisis in the state's higher education system arising from the Hopwood v. Texas supreme court decision leading to discontinuance of affirmative action. Two controversial bills that were approved concerned softening of…

This statement presents the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights' position on higher education percentage plans. The One Florida Plan bans the consideration of race and gender in university admissions, guaranteeing state university admissions to high school seniors in the top 20 percent of their class, regardless of test scores. Texas' Ten Percent Plan…

The University of Texas law school's race-based admissions process triggered the boldest judicial statement addressing affirmative action since 1978. Colleges and universities throughout the country must now look at student diversity on a student-by-student basis and without reference to racial classifications. Admissions offices failing to comply…

In the current anti-affirmative action climate, colleges should review their admissions policies and redouble their efforts to admit a diverse class. Colleges have a right to determine what percentage of the students will be admitted automatically. Admissions officers violate the law only when they use race as a proxy for other legitimate…

A federal court decision in which the University of Texas was supported in preferential admissions treatment of minority law school applicants is criticized as perpetuating racial discrimination by a state institution. The suit was brought by four white applicants who would likely have been admitted if they were of a preferred racial group but…

The federal court decision in Hopwood versus the State of Texas, in which the court ruled that race could not be used as a factor in law school admission, is forcing universities to reexamine their reliance on standardized tests as admission criteria. Reduced use of test scores can then allow more active recruitment of top minority students. (MSE)

Assessment of Hopwood v Texas ruling on admissions at West Texas A&M University finds it has had little effect on that institution. The school stepped up recruitment efforts, targeting high schools with diverse populations. Additionally, the state's "10 percent" rule automatically made the top 10% percent of graduating students…

This report presents conclusions and recommendations of a study of possible criteria to define educationally underserved populations in Texas in light of the 1994 Court decision (Hopwood v. Texas) ending the use of racial quotas. The study identified qualitative variables related to social and cultural factors and 10 quantitative criteria (such as…