Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Louisiana’s U.S. Senator John Kennedy introduced bipartisan legislation to end the practice of colleges and universities nationwide giving preferential treatment to children of alumni and donors, helping ensure fairness in the admissions process.
The bipartisan Fair College Admissions for Students Act prohibits private and public institutions of higher education from participating in federal student aid programs if they give admissions preference to students with legacy or donor status.
“As the first in my family to go to college, I know the struggles facing students whose parents have never been through the process before or don’t have the money for expensive test prep or advisors to help them craft the perfect essay,” said Merkley. “Children of donors and alumni may be excellent, well-qualified students, but the fact is they are the last people who should get an additional leg up in the complicated and competitive college admissions process. To counter the unfair advantage of money and connections in accessing higher education, Senator Kennedy and I are teaming up to put an end to taxpayer dollars propping up this system that only serves the rich and powerful.”
“Louisiana’s students work hard for an opportunity to get into their dream college. However, the practice of legacy admissions undermines good academic performance. The Fair College Admissions for Students Act would make sure that higher education institutions make decisions about who can attend their schools based on merit,” said Kennedy.
According to The Century Foundation, legacy admissions can take up 10 to 25 percent of available slots at elite schools, taking spaces away from talented students from all backgrounds. Some estimates also indicate that applying as a legacy student can quadruple one’s chances of getting into a highly selective university. By considering legacy and donor status in admissions decisions, institutions give preference to students whose families attended or donated to the university, thereby reducing opportunities for underrepresented students who lack these advantages.
In addition to Merkley and Kennedy, the Fair College Admissions for Students Act is co-sponsored by Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA). The bipartisan bill is endorsed by Education Reform Now, All4Ed, Campaign for College Opportunity, Class Action, EdMobilizer, Education Trust, Hildreth Institute, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), New America – Higher Education Program, The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS), and Richard D. Kahlenberg – the Editor of “Affirmative Action for the Rich: Legacy Preferences in College Admissions.”
“Education Reform Now is proud to have worked with Sen. Merkley on national legislation directed at ending the use of legacy preferences in college admissions. Providing a birthright admissions advantage to applicants lucky enough to be born into wealth and privilege is profoundly unfair and runs contrary to higher education’s mission to serve as an engine for opportunity and social mobility. That is why more than half the colleges and universities that considered legacy status in 2015 no longer do so. Elite colleges continue to cling to legacy preferences, even though Americans agree it is wrong. If these institutions refuse to embrace fairness, merit, and other shared American values, this bill will make them finally do the right thing,” said James Murphy, Director of Postsecondary Policy at Education Reform Now.
Full text of the Fair College Admissions for Students Act can be found by clicking here.
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