US institutions are finding it difficult to monitor campus diversity a year after the Supreme Court invalidated racial admissions. Due to colleges’ selective use of statistics and students’ hiding of racial and ethnic information, the decision’s impact is still unknown. Institutions are reporting data on the class of 2028, but the results are unclear and conflicting. This ambiguity is caused by a number of circumstances, according to a sociologist who studies higher education data.
Some people think their race is unimportant or don’t fit into any of the other categories. White students made up 67% of those who selected “race and ethnicity unknown” in 2008, with 33% saying that race and ethnicity had no bearing on who they were. Determining campus diversity is becoming more difficult due to the expanding “race unknown” category.
Students may choose not to disclose their race out of concern that it may hurt their chances of getting admitted. Non-response rates are higher at selective colleges (4%) than at less selective ones (1-2%). Eight percent of law school students choose not to disclose their race or ethnicity.
To look more diversified, institutions publish demographics selectively. Some strategies are:
1. Counting students of different races more than once
2. Creating a distinct category for overseas students
The impact of the Supreme Court decision will become more apparent with the release of the Integrated Post Secondary Education Data System (IPEDS) report, which is anticipated in the spring of 2025. However, new categories will be introduced by revisions to reporting standards in 2027, which could confuse the statistics.
The 2027 changes include:
1. Adding a Middle Eastern and North African category
2. Revising Hispanic or Latino ethnicity reporting
Universities’ reporting of student demographics will be impacted by these developments, which could result in:
1. A noticeable drop in white enrolment
2. Changes in the classification of Hispanic students
Due to colleges’ selective reporting and students’ hiding of racial information, the actual impact of prohibiting the consideration of race in college admissions is still unknown. The image may become clearer as institutions adjust to new rules, but efforts to monitor campus diversity will remain challenging due to changes in reporting requirements.
