The six-year graduation rate for [California Lutheran University's ] Hispanic students, who make up 40 percent of its 2,800 undergraduates, is equal to that of white and Asian American students, at about 75 percent. That sets the university apart from most others: Nationally, about 54 percent of Hispanic students graduate within six years.
Despite that accomplishment, the university received from its accreditor in early 2021 a “notice of concern” finding that it wasn’t truly inclusive. Academic outcomes hadn’t similarly improved for Black students, for whom the six-year graduation rate is 69 percent, according to a report by the WASC Senior College and University Commission, formerly the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, one of the nation’s major institutional accreditors…..
The 2020 murder of George Floyd, a Black [also a poor and economically marginalized–ed.] man killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, was another catalyst for action by the Western commission. “What does the death of George Floyd have to do with what we do? Everything,” the agency said just days after Floyd’s death. Spurred by that event, the accreditor established an Equity and Inclusion Council to make those issues central to everything it does….
In November 2022 the Western commission adopted its latest requirements for members to incorporate principles of DEI by making clear that they should be a core part of a college’s mission and integrity, the first of four broad standards that a college must meet during the accreditation process. Under that standard, a college “promotes the success of all students and makes explicit its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion"….
In 2021 the commission approved a policy on “social justice” that commits it and its members to “a mission-based higher-education model that assures equity, educational opportunity, and success for all students by upholding standards that require member institutions to address historical inequities."
It's hard to see how this last requirement can be squared with Bakke, which specifically rejected any role for higher education in remediating "historical" or societal discrimination. And when the Supreme Court declares in a couple of months that "diversity" is not a constitutionally permissible consideration in college admissions, what then? My guess is DEI will become "EI," and there will be lots more litigation to come, given the clear commitment of these commissions and most universities to diversity blather, the law notwithstanding.
(Thanks to Brian Skyrms for calling the CHE article to my attention.)
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