Texas Lawmakers Seek to Modify 10 Percent Admissions Policy
In January, I blogged about Texas lawmakers’ efforts to modify the state’s 10 percent admissions policy for tax-supported colleges and universities. If a student graduates in the top 10 percent of his class in Texas, he’s guaranteed admission to any public college or university in the state, regardless of the high school’s academic standards.
University of Texas (UT) President William Powers complained about an unintended consequence of the so-called Ten Percent Plan. It was causing capacity problems. Powers said if lawmakers didn’t change the policy, UT would run out of room for students who are not admitted under the policy.
Last week, a Texas Senate panel voted 4-1 to modify the policy. Students graduating in the top 10 percent of their class would no longer be guaranteed admission to public colleges and universities. Additionally, the bill would cap Ten Percent Plan admissions to 50 percent as opposed to the current 80 percent at UT. The bill now goes to the full Senate. (Source)
The Texas Ten Percent Plan was the result of a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit case, Hopwood v. Texas (1996). The court ruled that using race preferences in college admissions to achieve “diversity” was unconstitutional. Consequently, Texas created a new policy to admit more black and Hispanic students in a race-neutral way. Unfortunately, UT returned to the practice of considering race in admissions after the Supreme Court ruled in 2003 that race could be a factor.
