21. Conduct full-scale audit of admissions requirements.

Admissions 09.16.24

Here’s what the federal government can do:

  • The U.S. Department of Education should collect, conduct, and disseminate research on the effects of admissions requirements, such as pre-coursework, on the racial diversity of admitted college students.
  • The U.S. Department of Education should provide technical assistance and best practices for conducting full-scale audits of admissions requirements.

Here’s what state government can do:

  • State legislatures should require higher education institutions to conduct a full-scale audit of admissions requirements.
  • Higher education coordinating agencies should share best practices for conducting full-scale audits of admissions requirements.

Here’s what institutional leaders can do:

  • Higher education institutions should conduct a full-scale audit of admissions requirements.

By conducting audits of admission requirements, institutions can ensure that their admissions processes are fair, transparent, and inclusive, allowing for the recognition of diverse talents and capabilities among all applicants.

Colleges and universities should conduct a comprehensive audit of admissions requirements to identify and rectify any instances where admissions criteria, such as pre-coursework, are not truly necessary and are limiting the racial diversity of the admitted students pool. High schools with a large share of Black, Latino, and Native American students are less likely to offer advanced courses.[i] For example, only 38 percent of high schools with predominantly Black or Latino enrollment offer calculus.[ii] Emphasizing advanced pre-coursework in admissions criteria disadvantages students from underrepresented backgrounds and perpetuates inequities in higher education access. For example, an institution might require an applicant to have taken calculus in high school for all majors, even those where previous calculus experience isn’t necessary.

[i] See U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, 2015–2016 Civil Rights Data Collection: STEM Course Taking 5, https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/stem-course-taking.pdf; McKinley, Bryan, Jones, Brayboy, & Maaka, Margaret. “K–12 Achievement for Indigenous Students,” Journal of American Indian Education, Spring 2015. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5749/jamerindieduc.54.1.0063.

[ii]Anderson, Veronica; & Burdman, Pamela, “A New Calculus for College Admissions: How Policy, Practice, and Perceptions of High School Math Education Limit Equitable Access to College,” Just Equations, National Association for College Admission Counseling, February 2022. https://justequations.org/resource/a-new-calculus-for-college-admissions-how-policy-practice-and-perceptions-of-high-school-math-education-limit-equitable-access-to-college.