The University of Minnesota has announced that it will no longer factor in the race or legacy status of applicants during the admissions process, Your Content has learned.
The decision comes in response to a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which banned the use of affirmative action in college admissions.
The university’s Twin Cities campus has revised its “holistic review practice” and now prioritizes factors such as cultural, gender, age, economic, and geographic diversity when evaluating potential students. Until recently, race and family employment or attendance were included in the consideration process.
However, the university had been reviewing its policy even before the Supreme Court ruling.
In light of the ruling and increasing calls from critics, who argue that legacy admissions disproportionately benefit privileged white students, academic institutions across the country have faced pressure to abandon the practice.
The University of Minnesota’s updated admissions website states, “As part of the recent Supreme Court decision on race-conscious admissions, along with our standard annual review of undergraduate admission practice, we no longer consider race and ethnicity or family attendance or employment at the University as context factors.”
With this move, the University of Minnesota aims to create a more equitable and inclusive admissions process while complying with the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action, according to ABC6.