LANSING, Mich.
Three universities asked a federal court in Detroit on Monday to delay a new state ban on public affirmative action programs until after this year’s admissions and financial aid cycles.
The University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University want to complete their annual admissions and financial aid cycles using the standards that were in effect when the process began earlier this year.
The voter-approved initiative to ban the use of race and gender preferences in university admissions and government hiring is to take effect Dec. 23.
The University of Michigan’s admissions process begins in the summer when applications are sent to prospective students and counselors. It ends the following May. So far, the school has received nearly 16,000 applications.
“It would be extremely difficult, and unfair to prospective students, to change our admissions and financial aid processes in midstream,” UM President Mary Sue Coleman said in a news release.
The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, the group that organized and supported the initiative, says universities have had adequate time since the November election to get ready for the change.
