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The practice of Harvard University giving preference to undergraduate applicants who have connections to alumni or big donors is now under investigation by the US Department of Education. This move intensifies the scrutiny over Harvard’s admissions policies and follows a complaint filed by three Massachusetts-based advocates for minority groups. They argue that the use of donor and legacy preferences by Harvard is discriminatory and are demanding an end to these practices if the university wants to continue receiving federal funds.
In response to queries, the Department of Education stated, “The Office for Civil Rights can confirm that there is an open investigation of Harvard University under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
This investigation comes after a significant ruling by the US Supreme Court, which declared that including race as a criterion for university admissions is unconstitutional. The court’s decision targeted affirmative action policies at both Harvard and the University of North Carolina.
Amid increasing criticism of legacy admissions for perpetuating social inequality and hindering equal access to higher education, Wesleyan University and the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have announced that they will discontinue this practice. According to Education Reform Now, over 100 colleges and universities have abandoned legacy preferences since 2015, including prestigious institutions like Johns Hopkins and Amherst.
During the Supreme Court litigation, it was revealed that legacy applicants to Harvard between 2014 and 2019 had nearly six times higher admission rates compared to others, while applicants with connections to donors had nearly seven times higher admission rates. Supporters of the current system argue that legacies and donations help universities fund scholarships and other programs that support increased recruitment of under-represented groups and ensure diversity on campus.
Legacy and donor-related applicants make up to 15% of Harvard’s admitted students, with nearly 70% of them being white. These policies were initially implemented in the 1920s to limit the number of Jewish students, but the lobby group Students for Fair Admissions, involved in the Supreme Court affirmative action case, claims that they now discriminate against Asians.
Harvard University has chosen not to comment on the recent complaint filed by the Department of Education. The complaint was brought by the Chica Project, African Community Economic Development of New England, and Greater Boston Latino Network. In previous statements, Harvard emphasized its commitment to diversity and inclusivity.
Lawyers for Civil Rights, a non-profit organization representing the advocacy groups, stated, “Harvard should follow the lead of a growing number of colleges and universities and voluntarily abandon these unfair and undeserved preferences.”
A recent study conducted by Raj Chetty at Harvard uncovered that children from wealthy families in the top 1% of income are more than twice as likely to attend Ivy-Plus colleges (the eight Ivy League institutions plus Stanford, MIT, Duke, and the University of Chicago) compared to middle-class families with comparable test scores.
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