LANSING, Mich.
The University of Michigan last week announced it has received a record number of applications for the incoming freshmen class, but slightly fewer of what the school calls underrepresented minorities sought to attend compared to last year.
The 2 percent falloff in applications from Blacks, Hispanics and American Indians likely is in part due to policies and publicity stemming from a voter-approved ban on the use of race and gender preferences in university admissions.
Voters approved Proposal 2 in late 2006. The fall 2008 entering class at the University of Michigan is the first recruited entirely under its rules, which likely will have greater impact at the Ann Arbor campus than anywhere else in the state.
The university said that it received 2,771 applications from Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans — down 2 percent from last year. Of those who applied, 1,310 were offered admission. That’s a rate about 2.3 percentage points lower than last year.
University officials predicted it’s a temporary decline and said it isn’t as steep as the falloff that occurred at flagship universities in some other states. California and Washington, for example, have similar laws.
U-M says it has stepped up its recruitment of minority students while staying within the boundaries set by the new law, which bans some affirmative action programs. For example, the university announced last month it will open an educational outreach and academic success center. Part of its role will be to help expand diversity on campus.
