Colorado Becomes First State to Ban Legacy Admissions at Public Universities
“state-supported institutions of higher education shall not consider a legacy preference… as eligible criteria for admission standards”
This makes sense for state schools, doesn’t it? Private schools can do what they want but legacy admissions seem silly for government schools.
FOX News reports:
Colorado becomes first state to ban legacy admissions for public colleges
Colorado became the first state in the nation to ban legacy admissions for public colleges this week, a move that Gov. Jared Polis said will create more of a meritocracy in higher education.
“This bill will help move us in a direction where our higher education institutions are moving towards being meritocracies — meaning that you have to earn admission because of who you are and what you can do and what your potential is, not who your parents or grandparents were,” Polis said after signing the bill Tuesday.
The bill says that “state-supported institutions of higher education shall not consider a legacy preference… as eligible criteria for admission standards.”
The change will only affect public schools, which already put much less weight on legacy when deciding whether to admit an applicant. Just 6% of admissions directors at public colleges say they consider legacy status in applications, while 42% of admissions directors at private schools say legacy plays a role, according to a 2018 survey by Inside Higher Ed.
Other individuals schools have put an end to legacy admissions, but Colorado is the first to end the practice statewide.
Texas A&M University was the first to abolish legacy admissions in 2004 and Johns Hopkins University followed suit in January 2020.
Polis also signed a bill this week that will make standardized tests like the ACT and SAT optional for applicants moving forward.
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Comments
Follow the money. If the parents or relatives are big donors—hello admission.
I don’t mind this. It provides some relief for the taxpayers. I don’t see that buying a product, even a desirable one, is a sin.
It makes sense, because attendance is a benefit at the expense of the taxpayers. But they might as well get rid of “school spirit” stuff and stop paying for the football and basketball scholarship athletes. This is how you destroy school spirit not how you develop it.
School spirit is nice but it was always pretty expensive when money sports are really big money losing sports almost everywhere.
Social Justice Warriors want to abolish the legacy preference for a goal left unstated by the article — They do not want a meritocracy. Instead they demand “equity” by allocating admission slots based upon the US population. If a wealthy black, Asian-American or Jewish alumnus seeks admission for his or her child, that still does not result in “equity” because they want a full share of students representing everyone, regardless of how ill prepared the admission candidates are. So, they are not seekng to advance a meritocracy — they want “equity.”