The question of using race as a factor in admissions is one that is far from being resolved, as evidenced by pending court cases related to the issue. On one side, individuals contend using race at all is unfair, while others say it is a necessary component in the assessment of a student.
In terms of UW-Madison's admission policy, race is one of many considerations, according to Rob Seltzer, director of admissions.
This policy is \perfectly legal,"" he said.
The Faculty Senate is set to hear the annual report March 4 from the Committee on Undergraduate Recruitment and Financial Aid. The report includes, among other things, statistics of target minorities and non-targeted students admitted and not admitted to the university.
Those who disagree on the correctness of using race as a deciding factor often disagree on the relevancy of the actual evidence the other side proposes.
For example, according to UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley, if you take all the ACT scores of minority students and average them, the resulting number is approximately three points lower than the average of all the white students' ACT scores. For an opponent of race-based admissions, this may be evidence the system is unfair and that it holds students of different races to different standards.
But others, including Wiley, disagree on the meaning of the numbers.
""As a percentage of the freshmen, a larger percentage of minority students have low ACT scores,"" he said. ""However, there's a much larger number of white students with very low ACT scores than minority students.""
Opponents of the university's system say there is a need for a change.
Fred Mohs, a member of the UW System Board of Regents, has continually voiced his concern over the current policy. He said using race as a factor in admissions was intended to be temporary, and now that it has been around for 30 years, it is becoming permanent.
""A temporary boost is one thing,"" he said. ""A permanent policy that divides qualifications on a long term basis is another.""
""I really believe this country needs to have ... the starting line and the finish line the same for everyone when it comes to academia,"" Mohs said.
He said universities would achieve diversity better without using race-based admissions.
""Most of our targeted minorities are admitted without consideration of race,"" he said.
While Mohs said he was against using affirmative action in college admission, he said he did not oppose it in other areas, such as financial aid and hiring policies.
Until there's a ruling on a case involving the admissions policy of the University of Michigan's law school, UW-Madison officials will not change their policies, Seltzer said.
If UW-Madison were involved in a court case of its own, Mohs said, the university would most like be ""very much at risk.""
Wiley said he supports the university's current policy.
""Most people who lodge complaints seem to me to believe'sometimes even admit they believe'that admissions should be a purely mechanical process,"" Wiley said. ""I simply dispute that.""
He said factors such as grade point and test scores do not give the entire picture. To allow for flexibility in unique cases where, for instance, a student has low scores but still shows strong potential for success according to admissions officials, there are no minimum requirements for admission, Seltzer said.
Special exceptions can also be made for students according to decisions by deans of colleges and the director of admissions.
""There's some obligation, I think, for a public university to reach out to those students who haven't had much encouragement to think about and prepare themselves for college and yet who clearly ... have what it takes to succeed,"" he said.
Nevertheless, it will most likely be a significant amount of time before changes, if any, are made to UW-Madison's admissions policy.
""The debate rages,"" Seltzer said. ""It will really come down to the Supreme Court making the decision whether race can be a factor.""
