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Higher Education Policy and Pipeline p. 2

Higher Education Policy and Pipeline

Overview

  • Course: EDUC 005: Introduction to Education Studies

  • Date: 3/5/2025

Agenda

  • Announcements

    • Final Paper details discussed.

    • Extra Credit opportunities mentioned.

  • Lecture Topics

    • Institutional Stratification

    • Affirmative Action

Institutional Stratification

  • Definition:

    • Access to various postsecondary institutions varies based on socioeconomic status, gender, and ethnicity. (Posselt, Jaquette & Bastedo, 2012)

  • Characteristics of the U.S. System:

    • Highly stratified by mission, selectivity, and returns on earned degrees.

    • Efficiency goal emphasized during Week 1.

    • Community colleges discussed in the context of the cooling out function (Clark, 1960).

    • Prestige associated with different types of institutions.

Race and Socioeconomic Status (SES)

  • Racial Inequality in Selective College Enrollment:

    • While access to postsecondary education has improved since 1972 across ethnicities, enrollment odds for Black and Latino students have decreased in relation to White and Asian American students.

    • Selective universities increasingly stratified by socioeconomic status, impacting enrollment across racial groups.

Mechanisms of Stratification in Admissions

  • Admission Barriers:

    • Rising academic standards, notably in SAT scores.

    • Structured activities play a role in shaping admission processes.

Affirmative Action Overview

  • Objectives:

    • Provide background on Affirmative Action (AA).

    • Introduce debates over race-conscious admissions in higher education.

    • Situate AA debates within a socio-historical context.

What is Affirmative Action?

  • Categories included in the policy:

    • Race, sex, veteran status, disability.

Rationales of Affirmative Action

  • Compensation for Systemic Disadvantages:

    • Acknowledge and address historical discrimination affecting people of color (education debt).

    • Universities must create environments that enhance educational benefits from diverse student bodies.

Lyndon B. Johnson's Speech (1965)

  • Key Quote:

    • "You do not take a person who, for years, has been hobbled by chains and liberate him... and still justly believe that you have been completely fair."

    • Importance of equal opportunity and ability to engage with opportunities.

Affirmative Action - Legislative Background

  • Key Executive Orders and Acts:

    • Executive Order 11246 (1965): Addresses discrimination based on race, creed, color, or national origin.

    • 1967 Amendment: Inclusion of sex.

    • Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (1972): Inclusion of disability.

  • Definition of AA Measures:

    • Measures to correct past or prevent future discrimination beyond mere termination of discriminatory practices.

Race-Conscious Admissions

  • Current Political Climate:

    • Hostility towards using race in admissions.

    • Eight states with bans on race consideration in admissions: CA, WA, FL, MI, NE, AZ, NH, OK.

  • Policy Battle Sites:

    • Courts, legislatures, citizen initiatives.

AA in Higher Education - Legal History

  • Key Supreme Court Cases:

    • University of California Davis v. Bakke (1978)

    • Grutter v. Bollinger (2003)

    • Gratz v. Bollinger (2003)

    • Fisher v. UT Austin (2013, 2016)

    • Other pivotal cases include Hopwood v. Texas (1996) and Shuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action (2014).

Diversity Rationale in AA

  • Educational Benefits:

    • Supports interests of elite universities.

    • Informs a wealth of social science research on educational advantages of a diverse student body.

Legal Scrutiny and Admissions Practices

  • Strict Scrutiny in Race Consideration:

    • Race can be considered in admissions if narrowly tailored and passes strict scrutiny.

  • Variances in Legal Standards:

    • Differing rulings in Grutter and Gratz cases regarding practices used in admissions.

Ongoing Litigation

  • Harvard Lawsuit (2019):

    • Defense of race-conscious admissions, countering claims of discrimination against Asian Americans.

    • Upcoming lawsuits involving UWisc and UNC-Chapel Hill focus on race-neutral alternatives.

Racial Triangulation

  • Concept of Asian Americans as a Wedge Group:

    • Historical and contemporary issues highlight the model minority myth.

    • Addressing how different minority groups can be positioned against each other in policy discussions.

Intersectionality in Context

  • Social Identity and Oppression:

    • Examines how overlapping identities lead to distinct experiences and challenges.

  • Political Intersectionality:

    • Highlights the different political agendas that silence marginalized groups.

Arguments Against Affirmative Action

  • Common Critiques:

    • Claims of unmeritorious preferential treatment and reverse racism.

    • Concerns about stigma and mismatching in student admissions.

References

  • Bell, D. A. (2003). "Diversity’s distractions." Columbia Law Review.

  • Crenshaw, K. (1991). "Mapping the margins: Intersectionality..." Stanford Law Review.

  • Garces, L. M., & Jayakumar, U. M. (2014). "Dynamic diversity..." Educational Researcher.

  • Guinier, L. (2003). "Admissions rituals as political acts..." Harvard Law Review.

  • Vue, R., et al. (2012). "Creating college going cultures..."