Giving Compass' Take:

· Matthew Chingos and Victoria Lee discuss the history of affirmative action, the Bakke decision and the future of college admissions if these policies are rescinded.

· If affirmative action policies are removed, how will colleges encourage racial diversity on campus? How can they ensure inclusion during the admission process? 

· Read more about the Trump administration's plans to rescind affirmative action policies.

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court Bakke decision, which upheld the use of race as a factor in college admissions. But Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement means that Bakke’s days are likely limited, and colleges need to be ready for a world in which considering race in college admissions is no longer legal.

Affirmative action in college admissions has barely survived multiple challenges at the Supreme Court over the past two decades. Justice Kennedy’s retirement is likely to flip the outcome of the next big affirmative action case, such as a challenge against Harvard’s admissions process that could eventually land in the highest court. And the Trump administration has prepared to investigate and sue higher education institutions with affirmative action policies that it believes discriminate against white students.

Colleges are not ready for a post-Bakke world—they don’t know how to recruit diverse classes if their traditional approaches are ruled unconstitutional. Even with existing race-sensitive admissions practices, black and Hispanic students represent only 6 percent and 13 percent of students in the most selective colleges and universities (they make up 15 percent and 22 percent of the traditional college-age US population). Changing demographics in the US will only continue to increase the importance of learning alongside diverse classmates.

Read the full article about the future of affirmative action by Matthew Chingos and Victoria Lee at Urban Institute.