WASHINGTON, D.C.: The United States Department of Education has opened a civil rights investigation into Harvard University s policy of giving family members of former students and donors preference in admissions decisions, documents showed on Tuesday.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling gutting race-conscious admissions last month placed a spotlight on legacy preferences in higher education, a practice that mostly helps white and wealthy students. That focus intensified Tuesday with the news that the Education Department had opened a civil rights investigation into Harvard University’s legacy admissions policy. That inquiry will examine allegations by three liberal groups that Harvard’s practice of showing preference for the relatives of alumni and
The investigation will focus on whether Harvard “discriminates on the basis of race by using donor and legacy preferences in its undergraduate admissions process.”
Legacy admissions have come under increased scrutiny with the Supreme Court's decision to end affirmative action prompting universities to take a closer look at their admissions policies.