Guilty by admission: Elite colleges violate the law

Using racial preferences to achieve a particular racial mix of students has been illegal for at least the last twenty years. Yet many schools persist in treating applicants differently by race in order to achieve racial diversity.

The lingering presence of unlawful racial preferences makes applying to college or professional school all the more difficult and admissions decisions all the more arbitrary. Students need to know whether they are being treated in accordance with the law.

College and university
trustees may be held liable personally for illegal admissions procedures at their schools. Trustees need to be familiar with the law and the ways that their schools may be violating it.

CIR has prepared two
handbooks which are available free of charge — one for college students and the other for college trustees. Each handbook explains the law in everyday terms and suggests ways to reform unlawful admissions practices.

View CIR’s Handbook for Students (PDF format – 246K)

View CIR’s Handbook for Trustees (PDF format – 203K)