While the loss of affirmative action in college admissions is a shock to much of the country, it is decidedly old news in Arizona. And surprisingly, the Grand Canyon State, which does many things poorly, has been able to cope reasonably well without affirmative action.
While students and their parents struggle over high-stakes admissions to elite colleges in some states, Arizona essentially lets everyone go to a public university if they have a B average and graduated from an Arizona high school.
Arizona has risen to the challenge, creating room for 75,000 students at Arizona State, 50,000 at the University of Arizona and 30,000 at Northern Arizona.
Affirmative Action was ended by voters in a 2010 election, but the impact on students was not as severe as expected.
Grand Canyon University, the state’s largest private college, has coped with restrictions by allowing reduced tuition for people living near the school’s campus on the west side of Phoenix. Many are Hispanic.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in its wisdom, has so-far not outlawed geography so the GCU approach passes muster. Needs-based scholarships also help.
The Arizona Republic has a detailed story on why the Supreme Court ruling has little effect in Arizona. www.azcentral.com/...
But in Arizona, universities and civil rights experts say little is expected to change. The state is one of eight that already bans consideration of race, ethnicity or gender in admissions decisions at state institutions, including Arizona's three public universities.
Arizona also doesn't have a track record of "selective admissions" in higher education, according to Nolan Cabrera, a University of Arizona professor who studies racial dynamics on college campuses. He said that may help minimize the effects of the ruling in Arizona.
The newspaper added: “While the number of students of color pursuing degrees at Arizona's public universities has grown in recent years, Black, Latino, Asian and Native American students still see lower rates of college attainment than white students, according to research from Helios Education Foundation, an Arizona-focused nonprofit that works to increase educational opportunities.”
"Now more than ever, colleges and universities must come to better understand and implement more inclusive strategies within the confines of these bans to yield diverse college student enrollment and completion," said Marla Franco, vice president of Hispanic-Serving Institution Initiatives at the University of Arizona and co-founder of the Arizona Hispanic-Serving Institutions Consortium.
The University of Arizona has bolstered diversity in its student body without race-conscious admissions efforts since the voter decision, said spokesperson Nick Prevenas.
"As the state's land grant university and a Hispanic Serving Institution, we are proud to have seen significant growth in diversity of our student body over the last decade," he said.