The study investigates a tension between affirmative action scholars who hypothesize that affirmative action bans would increase underrepresented minority students' STEM college completions and scholars who have empirically estimated declines. It also questions results that that find no existence of a STEM penalty (compared to non-STEM) caused by…

Despite the emergence of test-optional policies, standardized admission tests continue shaping the college composition and financial aid prospects of hundreds of thousands of students. This is concerning for the following reasons: (a) standardized test results have historically favored test-takers from wealthier and majority backgrounds, (b) test…

Using a census sampling, this analysis evaluates the campus structures and practices that are predictive of a campus being affiliated with stakeholder legal advocacy regarding the Fisher Supreme Court affirmative action case of 2013. Findings reveal that a campus utilizing selective admissions operated as a sufficient, but not a necessary,…

University administrators often strive for racial, socioeconomic, and geographic diversity in their student populations. Today, administrators face a new demographic challenge as women increasingly outnumber men in applications, enrollments, and graduation rates. This article discusses the causes and potential consequences of the growing gender…

Do state government policies and institutions promote access to postsecondary education by economically disadvantaged students? I analyze the number of state residents receiving federal Pell grants relative to the college-age population raised in low-income households. Using data for 1993-2008, I estimate separate models for total Pell recipients…

This paper examines student attitudes towards affirmative action over 4 years of college. Asian American and Latino/a students were more likely than White students to disagree strongly or somewhat with abolishing affirmative action after 4 years of college. A student's attitude towards the policy as a first-year student, peer group influence, and…

This study explores the various factors that promote positive interactions across race for African American, Asian American, Latino, and White college students. A longitudinal survey was administered to all incoming students at nine public institutions (with a follow-up survey given at the end of their second year), examining activities related to…

Data relating to the hiring of academic administrators are presented, showing substantial changes in the hiring process, but little evidence to support the intent of legislation to involve more minorities in academic leadership and management. (Author/MLW)

The development of a "change index" and its application in evaluating the relative performance of individual doctorate-granting universities in hiring and promoting women faculty is reported. A wide range of institutional performance in hiring and promoting women faculty was revealed. (Author/MLW)

Patterns of doctoral study and subsequent career progress were compared for 756 men and women doctoral graduates in education at a research university. Work experience prior to doctoral study strongly predicted career progress for both genders. Affirmative action may have positively affected the careers of recent women doctorates. (Author/MLW)

Data from 191 institutions which placed notices in the "Chronicle of Higher Education" revealed that there are qualified minority and female candidates available and members of minority groups are making progress toward employment (females even greater progress) while white males are not being "closed out" of the hiring process. (Editor/JT)

In "Grutter vs. Bollinger," the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the use of race as one factor, among many in admissions decisions is constitutional. It is not known, however, whether future legal opinions will continue to uphold the use of affirmative action policies. Some have argued that class-based preferences can achieve many of the same goals…

Using Bowen and Bok's data from 23 selective colleges, we fit multilevel logit models to test two hypotheses with implications for affirmative action and group differences in attainment of science, math, or engineering (SME) degrees. Hypothesis 1, that differences in precollege academic preparation will explain later SME graduation disparities,…

Judgment policies of personnel and affirmative action officers were examined in one state's colleges and universities by identifying 13 possible program effectiveness criteria. Results suggest attitudes and procedures were the most important effectiveness criteria; institution type and size had no moderating effects. (MSE)

This study utilized a national longitudinal data set of college students to examine the educational relevance of cross-racial interaction and how campuses can best structure such opportunities. The general pattern of findings suggests that cross-racial interaction has positive effects on students' intellectual, social, and civic development. The…