Another college drops its legacy admissions practices
'Still, to ensure we are removing any potential barriers to access and opportunity, Occidental will no longer ask applicants about alumni relationships as part of the application.'
Occidental President Harry Elam indicated that the school will pursue other methods to enhance 'diversity and inclusion.'
Occidental College, a Los Angeles-based liberal arts college, announced in a July 26 statement that it is formally discontinuing its use of legacy admissions in order to remove “barriers to access and opportunity.”
Following the Supreme Court declaring affirmative action to be unconstitutional in college admissions on June 29, Occidental announced it will no longer ask applicants about “alumni relationships” as the college seeks to uphold “diversity and inclusion.”
[RELATED: Colorado bans legacy admissions at public schools to combat ‘systemic inqeuity’]
“In the past, an applicant’s familial relationship to the College’s alumni could be considered as a factor in the admission decision if the student was otherwise a qualified applicant,” Occidental President Harry Elam said in the statement. “Even when such relationships have been considered, they have had minimal impact on admission decisions.”
He continued: “Still, to ensure we are removing any potential barriers to access and opportunity, Occidental will no longer ask applicants about alumni relationships as part of the application. Our holistic admission process will continue to carefully evaluate the whole student without regard to whether the student has an alumni connection.”
Occidental will instead prioritize other efforts such as recruiting veterans, in addition to attracting more low-income students through the Cal Grant Promise and increasing its outreach to Title I schools.
“We will institute these efforts because we firmly believe that students learn best in an environment in which they can study, live and work among people whose life experiences differ from their own,” Elam added.
“We also know that employers increasingly need and value ‘employees who have been educated at universities with exposure to a broad array of life experiences and viewpoints, and who can bring diverse perspectives and experiences to the workplace,’ as some major corporations argued in amicus briefs to the Supreme Court in the most recent cases on affirmative action,” he said.
The college’s statement indicated that this year’s freshman class will be “one of the most diverse classes at Occidental in recent history,” with 14% being first-generation college students, 47% identifying as “domestic students of color,” 14% being international or dual citizens, and 17% being eligible for the Pell Grant.
Wesleyan University recently announced its decision to eliminate legacy admissions and ensure “diversity in the student body” through other methods after the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action, Campus Reform reported.
Campus Reform has reached out to all relevant parties for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
