Policies and Plans

The Biden administration issued guidance documents aimed at clarifying the implications of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down race-conscious admissions policies in higher education. The guidance emphasizes that while colleges have lost a significant tool in achieving diversity in admissions, they should not abandon broader efforts to enroll and support a diverse student body.

The Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), jointly issued by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education, underscores the value of diversity in education and pledges support for colleges that pursue lawful steps to promote diversity and inclusion. It acknowledges that fostering diversity requires sustained action to eliminate barriers that prevent underserved students, particularly students of color, from accessing the benefits of higher education. The guidance suggests that colleges should intensify efforts to recruit and retain talented students from underserved communities, which may involve focusing on students from diverse backgrounds and creating a sense of belonging for enrolled students.

In addition to the DCL, the two departments also released a question-and-answer resource that outlines legally permissible practices for considering race in admissions. The guidance clarifies that institutions are still free to consider qualities and characteristics of individual students that pertain to their admission decision, such as personal experiences related to race. It also addresses the use of demographic information for outreach and recruitment efforts.

While the Supreme Court’s ruling bans the consideration of racial status in admissions, colleges can still gather and use demographic information to refine outreach, recruitment strategies, and campus programming. The Education Department announced plans to release a report in September on promising diversity and inclusion practices. The report will include strategies for using measures of adversity in admissions, such as considering applicants’ financial means, their socioeconomic background and high-school context, and personal hardships or experiences with discrimination.

Sarah Edwards, Senior Associate General Counsel, will host a session Apr. 25 to provide information and address questions regarding recent changes to UNC Policy Manual 300.5.1 dealing with Political Activities of Employees.

The session is scheduled from 12:00-12:45 p.m. and participants may join live in Reese Building Rm. 524C or via Google Meet.

Please register to attend using the Graduate School’s registration form.

Following is information from a Sarah Edwards memo that is pertinent to the information session:

On March 8, 2023, Vice Chancellor for Institutional Integrity and General Counsel Jesh Humphrey issued a memorandum regarding the Board of Governors’ recent revisions to UNC Policy Manual 300.5.1 Political Activities of Employees. That memo is attached here for your reference.

Based on some questions and feedback from you all, I would like to provide some additional guidance specifically related to graduate admissions:

Solicited statements, including essay prompts and interview questions, should be centered on competencies rather than commitments, beliefs, or ideologies. For example, the following questions or prompts do not violate the new policy:

o   What is your experience and comfort level working or interacting with individuals of varying ages, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, identities, and abilities?

o   What tools would you use to engage with a classmate or prospective client whose background or experience differs significantly from yours?

o   Please share any experience that demonstrates you possess the awareness, attitude, knowledge, and skills necessary to engage and include individuals of varying ages, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, identities, and abilities.

o   UNC Charlotte is committed to engaging, including, and eliminating barriers for students, faculty, and staff of different ages, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, identities, and abilities. Provide an example of a barrier that you have overcome in your life or that you have assisted someone else in overcoming.

Utilizing an accrediting body’s standards to evaluate graduate students continues to be permissible.  To the extent possible, the accreditation standards should be expressed as competencies, not as commitments, beliefs, or advocacy efforts.

A graduate program may continue to express its own commitment to certain values on its website or other publicly facing media.

Graduate programs may continue to consider or evaluate unsolicited and voluntary statements made by applicants during the admissions process.

Graduate programs may continue to target their recruitment efforts to solicit applicants from a variety of backgrounds. 

 As a reminder, the U.S. Constitution continues to prohibit public universities from making admissions decisions based solely or primarily on an applicant’s protected status (e.g. race, gender, nationality, religion).  In addition to that, the U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering whether to prohibit any use of race, and possibly other protected statuses, in admissions decisions.  The Court’s decision is likely to be released in June 2023.

Feel free to reach out to Sarah Edwards (sarah.edwards@uncc.edu) from the Office of Legal Affairs if you have specific questions or concerns related to your graduate program, and/or Johnna Watson (jwwatson@uncc.edu) in the Graduate School.

Effective immediately, off-campus access to eGEM, including GPDNet, requires logging into the University’s Virtual Private Network (VPN). The move was made to increase the security of the University’s information resources.

More information on VPN access is available in UNC Charlotte Spaces, including information for accessing the VPN from your mobile device.