Current:Home > ContactEducation Department opens investigation into Harvard’s legacy admissions -Visionary Wealth Guides
Education Department opens investigation into Harvard’s legacy admissions
Fastexy View
Date:2025-04-09 08:02:31
BOSTON (AP) — The U.S. Department of Education has opened an investigation into Harvard University’s policies on legacy admissions, which give an edge to applicants with family ties to alumni.
Top colleges’ preferential treatment of children of alumni, who are often white, has been facing new scrutiny since the Supreme Court last month struck down the use of affirmative action as a tool to diversify college campuses.
The department notified Lawyers for Civil Rights, a nonprofit based in Boston, on Monday that it was investigating the group’s claim that alleges the university “discriminates on the basis of race by using donor and legacy preferences in its undergraduate admissions process.”
Other news New rule targets college programs that leave grads with low income, high debt College programs that leave graduates underpaid or buried in loans would be cut off from federal money under a proposal issued by the Biden administration on Wednesday.An Education Department spokesperson confirmed its Office for Civil Rights has opened an investigation at Harvard and declined further comment.
The complaint was filed July 3 on behalf of Black and Latino community groups in New England. The group argued that students with legacy ties are up to seven times more likely to be admitted to Harvard, can make up nearly a third of a class and that about 70% are white. For the Class of 2019, about 28% of the class were legacies with a parent or other relative who went to Harvard.
“Qualified and highly deserving applicants of color are harmed as a result, as admissions slots are given instead to the overwhelmingly white applicants who benefit from Harvard’s legacy and donor preferences,” the group said in a statement. “Even worse, this preferential treatment has nothing to do with an applicant’s merit. Instead, it is an unfair and unearned benefit that is conferred solely based on the family that the applicant is born into.”
A spokesperson for Harvard on Tuesday said the university has been reviewing its admissions policies to ensure compliance with the law since the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action.
“As this work continues, and moving forward, Harvard remains dedicated to opening doors to opportunity and to redoubling our efforts to encourage students from many different backgrounds to apply for admission,” the spokesperson said.
Last week, Wesleyan University in Connecticut announced that it would end its policy of giving preferential treatment in admissions to those whose families have historical ties to the school. Wesleyan President Michael Roth said a student’s “legacy status” has played a negligible role in admissions, but would now be eliminated entirely.
In recent years, schools including Amherst College in Massachusetts, Carnegie Melon University in Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins University in Maryland also have eliminated legacy admissions.
Legacy policies have been called into question after last month’s Supreme Court ruling banning affirmative action and any consideration of race in college admissions. The court’s conservative majority effectively overturned cases reaching back 45 years, forcing institutions of higher education to seek new ways to achieve student diversity.
NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said he commended the Education Department for taking steps to ensure the higher education system “works for every American, not just a privileged few.”
“Every talented and qualified student deserves an opportunity to attend the college of their choice. Affirmative Action existed to support that notion. Legacy admissions exists to undermine it,” he said.
A study led by Harvard and Brown researchers, published Monday, found that wealthy students were twice as likely to be admitted to elite schools compared to their lower- or middle-income counterparts who have similar standardized test scores.
The study looked at family income and admissions data at the Ivy League and Stanford, MIT, Duke and the University of Chicago, found that legacy admissions policies were a contributing factor to the advantage high-income students have at these schools. Athletic recruitment and extracurricular credentials, which are stronger when students attend affluent private high schools, were the other two factors.
___
Associated Press reporters Annie Ma and Gary Fields contributed from Washington, D.C.
veryGood! (256)
Related
- Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
- Feds: Former LA deputy who arrested man for no reason will plead guilty to civil rights charges
- Duke QB Riley Leonard wanted homework extension after win over Clemson, professor responds
- Proud Boys leader gets harshest Jan. 6 sentence yet, Tropical Storm Lee forms: 5 Things podcast
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- The dementia tax
- Environmentalists lose latest court battle against liquified natural gas project in Louisiana
- How much do NFL players care about their Madden rating? A lot, actually.
- Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
- Arkansas blogger files suit seeking records related to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ travel, security
Ranking
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Missing windsurfer from Space Coast is second Florida death from Idalia
- Agribusiness Giant Cargill Is in Activists’ Crosshairs for Its Connections to Deforestation in Bolivia
- Tennis ball wasteland? Game grapples with a fuzzy yellow recycling problem
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Give Glimpse Into Their Summer Vacation With Their Kids—and Cole Sprouse
- Green groups sue, say farmers are drying up Great Salt Lake
- A$AP Rocky, Kelly Rowland honored, Doug E. Fresh performs at Harlem's Fashion Row NYFW show
Recommendation
Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
A judge orders Texas to move a floating barrier used to deter migrants to the bank of the Rio Grande
Felony convictions vacated for 4 Navy officers in sprawling scandal
Authorities try to flush out escaped murderer in suburban Philadelphia manhunt
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
Poccoin: A Retrospective of Historical Bull Markets in the Cryptocurrency Space
Education secretary praises Springfield after-school program during visit
AP PHOTOS: 50 years ago, Chile’s army ousted a president and everything changed