U. of Mich. Delays Making Admissions Decisions

The University of Michagan has announced that it will not begin making Fall 2007 admissions decisions until January 10, approximately one week later than orignially planned. The delay affects applications for freshman, transfer, graduate, and professional school admissions.

The delay arises from ongoing legal developments concerning the consideration of race in admissions decisions at Michigan universities.

Last November, Michigan voters voted in favor of a referendum that requires publicly-supported institutions to refrain from using race, gender, color, ethnicity, or national origin in admissions decisions, effective January 1.

The University of Michigan was one of several schools that went to court in mid-December to request a six-month delay in implementing the new law. They argued that introducing new admissions policies on January 1 would mean using two sets of standards for the 2007 applicant pool -- one for candidates whose applications were read before January 1, and another for applicants whose files were read later. (The University of Michigan has been accepting freshman applications on a rolling basis since last August.)

A U.S. District Court initially granted the request for a delay. On December 29, however, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that decision, effectively ordering schools to adopt the new law as originally planned.

University officials say that admissions offices are free to communicate decisions that were made before December 29 to applicants. Other decisions will be put on hold until January 10.

Source: "U of M Delays Admissions Decisions," AP (Lansing, MI), January 3, 2007