Study Claims OU Shows Racial Discrimination

A study released today by the Equal Opportunity Center claims OU shows preferential treatment toward African Americans and other races in the admission process.

The study loked at numbers from the law school, medical school and undergraduate admissions. They claim African Americans were admitted to all three schools with lower qualifications than other racial and ethnic groups. They claim there was also evidemce of preferential treatment for Indian American applicants as well.

OU  issued this statement...

"Despite assertions made today by the Center for Equal Opportunity, the University of Oklahoma does not use race as a specific criteria for admission to any of its programs.  OU has closely followed prior Supreme Court guidance and relies on outreach and recruiting efforts to reach underserved populations.  It is unfortunate that the University was not contacted or provided an opportunity to participate in the CEO study.  Had the University been contacted, we might have been able to clarify items that seem to be misunderstood by those who prepared the report.  
 
During the time frame considered in the report, undergraduate admission at OU was based on certain published, objective minimum criteria (i.e. ACT score, GPA and class rank). Importantly, no undergraduate student meeting the minimum admission standards has ever been denied admission to OU as a result of his or her race.

Admission to OU’s professional schools is similar in that race is not a specific factor in the admission process; admission is primarily based on objective criteria such as GPA and standardized test scores.  As required by their accrediting bodies, however, professional school admissions processes are necessarily more holistic – including consideration of writing ability, personal history (e.g. work experience, volunteerism, personal challenges etc.) and – in the case of the medical school – both blind reviews and in person interviews.
The University takes seriously the admissions process and, along with the remainder of the higher education community, awaits the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision in Fisher v. The University of Texas at Austin, which may alter the landscape of admissions in higher education.  Should new guidance be issued by the Court, the University will again review its processes to ensure continued compliance with federal law."

Posted: Monday, October 22 2012, 10:10 PM CDT