Racial Diversity Appears to Take a Hit at the University of Michigan

In 2006 voters in Michigan passed a public initiative that banned the consideration of race in university admissions. In 2008, the first year all admissions decisions at the University of Michigan were made under the constraints of the new law, black first-year enrollments actually increased by 12 percent.

This year, officials were once again optimistic about the racial diversity of the incoming class. The number of minority applicants to the university increased by 3.6 percent from a year ago. And the number of minority students admitted to the university was up by 7.6 percent.

But university officials report that the number of minority students who have indicated they plan to enroll this fall is down 9 percent from the level that existed a year ago at this time.

Admissions officials state that the number of out-of-state students accepting the university’s offer of admission has declined. This may be due to a high tuition price for out-of-state students and the fact that the university cannot offer these students financial aid packages that are as attractive as those offered by private institutions.

Copyright © 2009. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.