Justice and Education Departments Release Resources to Advance Diversity and Opportunity in Higher Education

Greetings Members and Friends of the RISE UPP Alliance!

As we continue to navigate today's dynamic work landscape, the success of any team hinges on its ability to adapt, collaborate, and innovate.  Many of us are in particularly challenging contexts in relation to our INCLUDES project, so we'd like to share a few resources that you may find useful.

Recently, the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division jointly released two resources to help colleges and universities understand the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina et al. (collectively “SFFA”). These resources were created to help colleges and universities as they work to lawfully achieve a diverse student body across a range of factors, including race and ethnicity. You can read more in the press release.

Additionally, the departments issued a Dear Colleague Letter with a Questions and Answers resource to help colleges and universities understand the Court’s decision as they continue to pursue campuses that are racially diverse and that include students with a range of viewpoints, talents, backgrounds, and experiences.

The Departments’ Questions & Answers resource distills the Court’s core holding and offers examples of steps colleges and universities can lawfully take to achieve a student body that is diverse across a range of factors, including race and ethnicity, such as: targeted outreach, recruitment, and pathway programs; evaluation of admission policies; and retention strategies and programs.

Last month, following the decision, ED hosted the National Summit on Equal Opportunity in Higher Education that brought together senior Biden-Harris Administration officials, student leaders, college and university administrators, and other stakeholders to discuss innovative strategies that enable colleges and universities to promote educational opportunity. In September, ED will produce a report elevating promising practices to build inclusive, diverse student bodies, including how colleges can give serious consideration to measures of adversity when selecting among qualified applicants. This includes accounting for the financial means of a student or their family; where a student grew up and went to high school; and personal experiences of hardship or discrimination, including racial discrimination, in their admissions process.

More information on the work the Biden-Harris Administration is doing to continue building success for all students to thrive can be found here.

Sincerely,

Blessing Enekwe, Ph.D.
Program Director, Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA), The Graduate School, University of Maryland
Executive Director, RISE UPP Alliance