Students for Fair Admissions Challenges Policies at Harvard and UNC

Background

Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Harvard is a federal lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts challenging Harvard University's “holistic” admissions process and its consideration of race and ethnicity when reviewing applications for undergraduate admission.

Following lengthy discovery and pre-trial motions, a non-jury trial commenced before Judge Allison Burroughs in October 2018. Judge Burroughs ruled in favor of Harvard on Sept. 30, 2019. The trial court decision was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

SFFA petitioned the Supreme Court to review both the First Circuit's decision in the Harvard case and a similar decision from the Middle District of North Carolina, Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, which had been decided in the school's favor in October 2021.

The Supreme Court certified both petitions on Jan. 24, 2022, and consolidated them under Harvard. After Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson testified during her confirmation hearing that she would recuse herself from the case because she is on the Harvard Board of Overseers, the Supreme Court separated the two cases, in order to allow her to participate in the UNC case. It is expected both will be heard in the 2022–23 term.

Although the cases only concern Harvard and UNC, they have been closely watched, because these policies and practices may have features similar to those of other institutions with competitive admissions. Furthermore, United States Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell, writing the principal opinion in the 1978 landmark case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, cited the “Harvard College program” as an exemplar of permissible race-conscious admissions.

“This kind of program treats each applicant as an individual in the admissions process,” Powell wrote. “The applicant who loses out on the last available seat to another candidate receiving a ‘plus’ on the basis of ethnic background will not have been foreclosed from all consideration for that seat simply because he was not the right color or had the wrong surname.”

Edward Blum, SFFA’s president, is the architect and driving force behind this lawsuit and other cases challenging race-conscious admissions practices at colleges and universities, including the unsuccessful attempt in Fisher v. University of Texas to eliminate the use of race as one of many factors in admissions.

In the U.S. Supreme Court

The Supreme Court should be cognizant of the rights the First Amendment grants to applicants to colleges and universities, and the freedoms it accords to those institutions. And the justices should honor decades of precedent and recognize the continuing value of colleges and universities using limited consideration of race and ethnicity as part of an individualized, holistic admissions review.

By doing so, the justices would properly reject calls for a so-called “race-neutral" regime made in lawsuits filed by the activist group Students for Fair Admissions challenging the admissions processes of Harvard University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, states an amicus brief submitted Aug. 1 to the High Court by ACE and 39 other higher education associations. read more

read the amicus brief

statement from ACE President Ted Mitchell

SFFA v. Harvard in the Lower Courts

In the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston ruled on Nov. 12, 2020, that Harvard does not discriminate against Asian-American applicants, reaffirming the importance of race-conscious admissions in helping construct diverse campuses.

The panel of judges upheld the decision by the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, setting up a possible case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. Read ACE President Ted Mitchell's statement on the decision here.

ACE and 40 other associations submitted an amicus brief to the appeals court in support of Harvard on May 21, 2020.

Read the Amicus brief

In the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts

Supported by 130 pages of factual findings and legal conclusions, Judge Allison Burroughs ruled for Harvard on Sept. 30, 2019. ACE and 36 other associations filed an amicus brief in support of Harvard prior to the hearing.

Read the Amicus BriefRead the Ruling

Read the Court's Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

Analysis on the District Court Decision

The Harvard Admissions Case: Reactions to the Judge's Ruling
ACE Vice President and General Counsel Peter G. McDonough talks with four experts on diversity in admissions policy about the decision.

Takeaways from the District Court Decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard: A Preliminary Analysis
College Board Access & Diversity Collaborative

ACE Statements and Commentary

Statement by ACE President Ted Mitchell on Harvard University Admissions Case Ruling
Oct. 1, 2019

No Retreat
Inside Higher Ed | June 10, 2019

Statement by ACE President Ted Mitchell on Trump Administration Decision to Rescind Guidelines on Race in College Admissions
July 3, 2018

The Supreme Court Frees Colleges to Sensibly Pursue Diversity
The Chronicle of Higher Education | June 24, 2016

ACE Board of Directors Resolution on Diversity
Resolution approved by the ACE Board of Directors on June 19, 2012, to preserve, support, and enhance diversity on college and university campuses.

ACE Resources

The Harvard Admissions Case: Reactions to the Judge's Ruling

ACE Vice President and General Counsel Peter G. McDonough talks with four experts on diversity in admissions policy about the recent district court decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Harvard.

Download

Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin

Resources on the legal challenges to race-conscious admissions, ACE’s amicus briefs in support of UT and more.

ACE Unveils New Resource on the Status of Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education

A seminal ACE report shows that while the number of students of color on U.S. campuses continues to rise, gaps in access, attainment, and debt levels remain.

ACE Survey Finds Increased Focus Among College Presidents on Campus Racial Climate

Campus racial climate has become a larger priority for college and university presidents and their institutions, finds a new national online survey by ACE's Center for Policy Research and Strategy (CPRS).

Race, Class, and College Access: Achieving Diversity in a Shifting Legal Landscape

This report examines how legal challenges to race-conscious admissions are influencing contemporary admissions practices at selective colleges and universities around the country.

Download

Diversity in Admissions Amicus Briefs

Amicus Brief: Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Harvard and v. University of North Carolina

ACE, along with 39 other higher education associations, submitted this amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the universities' race-conscious admissions protocols that are being challenged.

Download

Amicus Brief to U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit: Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Harvard

Along with 40 other higher education associations, ACE submitted this amicus brief in support of Harvard in the challenge to the university's “holistic” admissions process.

Download

Amicus Brief: Students for Fair Admissions, Inc., v. Harvard

ACE and 36 other higher education organizations submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. District Court in Boston in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc., v. Harvard.

Download

Amicus Brief to the U.S. Supreme Court: Fisher v. University of Texas (II)

ACE and 37 other higher education associations filed this brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, as the court prepares to take a second look at UT’s diversity in admissions policy.

Download

Amicus Brief to the U.S. Supreme Court: Fisher v. University of Texas

Amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in the case Fisher v. University of Texas, which deals with the university's admissions policy.

Download