WASHINGTON
When it comes to admissions practices, the status quo
has got to go. That was the core message of the American Council on
Education’s (ACE) latest status report highlighting progress in the
growth of minority students and faculty on American campuses.
Released on September 22, ACE’s sixteenth annual “Status Report on
Minorities in Higher Education” urges colleges and universities to
begin using nontraditional assessment measures to increase the number
of minority students admitted to higher education institutions.
The report makes a detailed examination — by race and ethnicity —
of high school completion and dropout rates, and trends in college
participation, educational attainment, college enrollment, degrees
conferred, and higher education employment.
“The year’s annual status report reveals that we continue to make
[progress] in expanding access and educational opportunities to all
students. It also shows, however, that important changes still remain,”
said Dr. Stanley O. Ikenberry, president of ACE.
This year’s report emphasizes that attacks on affirmative action
demonstrate the need for ACE’s sustained commitment to monitoring the
progress of minorities in higher education.
“[E]fforts to dismantle affirmative action underscore the important
role of this report in providing educators with annual information
about access to — and progress within — higher education for African
Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, and American Indians. These
trends illustrate the need for closer monitoring of trends in college
participation, enrollment, and degree attainment among underrepresented
groups,” the report says.
