Research findings support use of race-sensitive admissions

The first large-scale national study to examine the effects of race-sensitive admissions suggests that the policies have advanced educational goals and helped more African Americans join the middle-income ranks.

See also: William Bowen to lecture on race-sensitive admissions

Authors William Bowen and Derek Bok drew on a database of 45,000 students of all races who entered 28 selective colleges and universities in 1976 and 1989. Bowen and Bok conclude that academically selective colleges and universities have been highly successful in using race-sensitive admission policies to advance educational goals important to them and societal goals important to everyone.

A new book by Bowen and Bok, “The Shape of the River: Long-Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions,” includes these finding:

• If race were given no consideration whatsoever in admitting students, the percentage of blacks would drop substantially, especially at the most selective schools (from 7.9 percent in 1989 to between 2 and 3.5 percent).
• Blacks entering selective institutions have high and increasing rates of completion, though not as high as their white classmates. Seventy-five percent of blacks matriculating in 1989 graduated within six years.
• Large numbers of black students from selective institutions have gone on to earn advanced degrees, especially in law, business and medicine. Among the 1976 matriculants who graduated, 56 percent of blacks went on to earn advanced degrees, identical to the figure for white graduates.
• There is a strong and growing belief in the value of enrolling a diverse student body among matriculants of all races at selective institutions.

Forty-two percent of white matriculants in 1976 and 74 percent of their black classmates considered it “very important” to learn to work well with members of other races. Those percentages increased to 55 and 76 for 1989 matriculants. The same level of support for diversity was expressed by white matriculants who had been turned down by their first-choice school and presumably had the greatest reason to feel resentful of race-sensitive admissions policies.

The overall effect, say Bowen and Bok, is that race-sensitive admissions policies “have contributed substantially to the building of a much larger black middle class.”