Enrollment figures from Texas A&M University put to rest the arguments that schools can’t increase racial diversity without affirmative action.
Texas A&M saw 114 percent growth in their black and Hispanic enrollment from 2003 (10.8 percent of the student body) to 2015 (23.1 percent of student body), the Texas Tribune reported.
The university does not have an affirmative action policy. Instead, they use a top 10 percent rule. Students at the top of their class are promised automatic admission. The University of Texas at Austin, which uses affirmative action, saw a 45 percent growth during the same period, from 16.1 percent to 23.4 percent.
This top 10 percent rule ignores SAT scores and other factors which could benefit white and Asian students. The university uses it to ensure that students from the state’s poorer and lower-performing schools also have access to a high-quality college.
When the rule went into effect after a 1996 Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision, then-President Robert Gates saw it as a way to achieve more racial diversity. “Every student who is at A&M must know … that he or she and all students here have been admitted on personal merit,” he said.
Michael Young, the current A&M president, had harsh words for critics of the policy. “If you are really critical of the 10 Percent Rule, what you are saying is that we don’t want the kids from the [less competitive schools],” he said.
In their reporting, The College Fix wrote that “students of color also prefer Texas A&M because they know everyone there understands they have been admitted based on merit — not pity or a handout.”
Texas A&M seeks to attract minority students in other ways, too. The school hired “socially and culturally competent” recruiters who can share their experiences.
Those efforts have gained attention in areas with large black and Hispanic populations. An attentive recruiter responded to students such as Jose Lopez, and “show[ed] how much they really do care.” It made a difference in where Lopez attended, since he planned on attending UT-Austin, but rarely saw the school’s admissions representative.
There are also increased efforts with financial aid. A new scholarship for low-income, first-generation students, additional aid for Hispanic students through the National Hispanic Scholars, and for black students with the National Achievement Scholarships have lessened the cost burden of college.
The University of Texas is directly involved in the U.S. Supreme Court case on affirmative action, with a ruling expected later this week. Texas A&M’s policy likely won’t be affected either way, however. The university will remain free to continue its policy of admitting students based on merit to help students rather than merely improve the school’s enrollment figures.
