Minority numbers dip in Big Ten

Ohio State University and the University of Michigan have suffered smaller amounts of minority applicants after both schools revamped their admission systems for the 2003-2004 school year, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education article. \nThe retooling came after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Michigan's College of Literature, Science and the Arts violated the Constitution's 14th amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the laws, last June.\nBefore the ruling, the two universities used admission policies with point-based systems, which gave black, Hispanic and American-Indian applicants a 20-point bonus on a 150-point scale. The new policies dismiss the extra points given to minorities and instead require essays. \nAccording to the report, the number of black applicants to Ohio State University has fallen by 18.2 percent as of Feb. 7 of this year compared with the same time last year. OSU's total applications have also dropped by 9.6 percent, while the number of Hispanic applications has risen by 5.7 percent -- 472 to 499.\nThe University of Michigan reported a minority applicant drop of 23 percent from one year earlier. But like Ohio State, the total number of applications also dropped by 18 percent while the university's minority admissions were down 30 percent. \nIU Vice Chancellor Edwardo Rhodes said he doesn't think the point system needs to be reinstated at these universities, and the changes actually created more problems than they fixed. \n "The point system was a convenience, not a necessity," Rhodes said. "In the long run, it probably added more problems than what it was worth."\nRhodes also said the point system was used as a crutch for larger schools to deal with large loads of student applications.\n"You can use a more holistic approach when choosing students, but it requires more information," Rhodes said. "What points do is allow schools to avoid having to look at files in any great detail. So you can literally mechanically run them through. That's only a problem for large universities and selective universities. Smaller schools have always used a more holistic approach."\nRhodes said the essay system will separate the students who actually want to attend that university from those who only look at some colleges as stand-bys. \n"One of the nice things about the essay-based application system is that some students apply to 20 to 30 schools using a shotgun or machine gun, and not a rifle, so you don't aim that well," Rhodes said. "You will probably get a significant increase in yield because those that apply to your school will be much more serious about that school."\n-- Contact senior writer Dan Patrick at djpatric@indiana.edu.