The University has eliminated a policy that reserves seats for minority students in some low-enrollment math and writing classes after the federal government, prompted by a University student’s complaint, opened an investigation this summer.
The University’s Office of Multicultural Academic Support policy will no longer use race to determine whether students may pre-register for the first 10 slots of the 18-student classes. Now, only students who are involved in other OMAS programs will qualify for pre-registration, and all students can access many OMAS programs, said Charles Martinez, interim vice provost for the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity.
The U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation into the policy in July after former University student Melissa Hanks filed a complaint with the department’s Office for Civil Rights in May. The policy debate also prompted rallies on campus and drew national media attention.
Martinez said the University responded to federal government requests for information, but there is no question student complaints in the spring prompted University officials to re-evaluate the policy. The policy was changed during the summer, he said.
“There’s no question that it’s designed to provide specific support to students who provide diversity in a variety of different ways,” Martinez said. “The reality is the classes have always been diverse, and that continues to be true.”
Hanks said she was angry she hadn’t heard about the change before contacted by an Emerald reporter Tuesday night, but said the change is exactly what she wanted.
“That’s great news. I’m really excited. I’m real happy,” she said.
“If the students voiced complaints about it, then it was a smart thing to do, to change the policy before somebody else made them change the policy,” she said.
In the spring, students filed between five and complaints with the University’s Bias Response Team, which can’t change policies but records complaints and reports them to the upper administration, BRT coordinator Kimi Mojica told the Emerald in late May.
In the previous policy, OMAS administered seven lower-division classes – Writing 121 and 122, Math 111, Algebra Strategies 199 and Math 241, 242 and 243 – with slots reserved for students who self-identify as minorities. Other students were required to meet with an OMAS counselor early on the first day of class to enroll in the remaining slots.
OMAS Associate Director Linda Liu previously told the Emerald that in the more than seven years she has admitted students to the classes, spots have always been available for students willing to arrive in the morning on the first day of class and complete a five-minute pre-authorization process.
In the new policy, there are no reserved slots and students not involved in OMAS can enroll during a period before the first day of school, Martinez said. The classes are still capped at 18 students, making them smaller than most sections.
Of the six Writing 121, Math 241, Math 111, and Algebra Strategies 199 classes offered this term, only the Algebra Strategies class was full as of .
The Emerald could not obtain a copy of the new policy or of a University memorandum to the OCR before deadline Tuesday, but Martinez said all students may access OMAS and OMAS-affiliated services, which include the Diversity Building Scholarship, Target of Opportunity Laurel Award, Undergraduate Support Program, Ethnic Origins Peer Mentoring Program and Multicultural Recruiters, among others.
The OCR on Monday confirmed it is still investigating the policy, but representatives could not comment on the specifics of the case. Investigations usually take about six months, but may take longer for complex cases, DOE spokesman David Thomas said on Tuesday.
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