The University’s legal team will present oral arguments regarding its admissions policies April 1, the date the Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to hear two lawsuits against U-M.

In the meantime, confusion created by President George W. Bush’s use of the word “quota” in relation to U-M admissions policies has formed the basis for a new page on the U-M lawsuit Web site. Bush repeatedly characterized the policies as quotas during a press conference Jan. 16 and in a White House brief opposing the University in the upcoming lawsuits. U-M President Mary Sue Coleman responded by saying Bush was misinformed about the University’s admissions practices.

The new Web page, “Why Michigan’s Admissions Systems Comply with Bakke And Are Not Quotas,” helps information seekers understand that the undergraduate and Law School policies are in compliance with current law which allows race to be considered as one among a number of factors in the admissions process, says Jonathan Alger, assistant general counsel for the University. Key messages from the site include:

· Every application is reviewed individually, and admissions counselors look at the whole person in that review. The University considers each student’s academic strength, personal achievement and life experiences, among many other factors.

· Academic qualifications—including grades, test scores and strength of curriculum—are by far the predominant criteria in making admissions decisions.

· There are no separate tracks, set-asides or quotas. Every applicant competes against the entire class.

· Race is only one of the many factors considered in the admissions process. Every year some white students are admitted with lower test scores and lower GPAs than some minority students who are rejected—reflecting the consideration of many other factors in this individualized review.

· In the undergraduate admissions system, a 150-point Selection Index is used as a tool to help counselors consistently assess the large pool of applicants each year. Fully 110 points are awarded for academic factors. While students who are underrepresented minorities can earn 20 points in this system, the same 20 points can be earned by those who are socio-economically disadvantaged or who attend a high school that serves a predominately minority population, regardless of the student’s race (however, the 20 points only can be awarded once).

· Undergraduate admissions counselors review each file individually, but the Selection Index helps them evaluate the thousands of applications that are submitted. Counselors often bring individual applications before a review committee for further discussion and consideration. Taken as a whole, the Selection Index works very well in choosing a student body that is academically excellent and diverse in many ways.

· The numbers of enrolled students from underrepresented minority groups vary from year to year. For example, over the past decade, the number of enrolled students in the Law School from underrepresented minority groups ranged from 12.5 to 20.1 percent. During that same time period the percentage of U-M law students from California ranged from 11 to 15 percent, but no one would argue there is a quota for Californians. The number of enrolled students whose last name begins with the letter “S” ranged from 9.7 to 13.8 percent. These groupings occur because of characteristics of the applicant pool, not because there is any specific, predetermined numerical target.

These and other points about the admissions policies can be found at http://www.umich.edu/~urel/admissions/faqs/comply.html.