The evolvement of affirmative action policies at the university of Massachusetts amherst a public flagship academic institution

Affirmative action in college admissions has been losing support in the United States for some time. New "colorblind" methods are gaining ground among the proliferation of lawsuits and political initiatives regarding race in college admissions. A key issue among proponents and opponents in the public debate is whether or not the educational value of diversity is sufficiently compelling to justify considerations of race as a factor in deciding whom to admit to colleges and universities, or whether diversity can be achieved by admitting lower income students, without considering race. Many public and private universities adopted a diversity rationale as their primary justification for promoting affirmative action programs. Nowhere can the issue of diversity be seen more clearly as a contentious, heated, and national debate than among the multi-campus state university systems.;In the late 1990s, the increasingly hostile legal environment and string of legal challenges to race-sensitive admissions influenced University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) to rethink its diversity strategy. In March 1999, the university announced a revised admissions process to give consideration to an applicant's income and geography, and to de-emphasize considerations of race. Since that time, minimal research literature examined the impact of UMass Amherst's revamped admission strategies, which substitutes class for race as regards minority enrollment.;This case study focuses on the evolution of affirmative action programs at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a distinguished flagship academic institution in New England. It describes how it evolved and where it stands today (2016). A qualitative case study, using document analysis as the assessment method on affirmative action policies and procedures at UMass Amherst, was performed. Critical Race Theory (CRT) was the theoretical framework applied to the study. Findings show that since the 1960s and early 1970s, the university designed and implemented a long array of initiatives to improve the diversity climate for students, faculty, and staff. The firm commitment of various Chancellors, supporting the values of diversity and inclusion is notable, including the work done by various Diversity Committees. During the period 1999-2016, there still remained an amount of minority student underrepresentation, particularly African-American students, which raises questions about the university's choice of approaches and strategies throughout the years, as well as its effectiveness in resolving issues of campus diversity and inclusion. Students still view the work of the university administration as insufficient practices and policies when it comes to affirmative action.;The study concludes that banning race-based admission policies does have a negative enrollment effect particularly on African-American students. Greater efforts are still needed to increase access and opportunity for African-American students. It is noted that although UMass Amherst eliminated race from its admission policies, enrollment for Asian students increased by 83% from fall 1996 (1,113) to fall 2015 (2,040). Similarly, enrollment for Hispanic/Latino students increased by 54% from fall 1996 (779) to fall 2015 (1,203).;Despite the benefits of diverse student cohorts documented in the literature, the underrepresentation of African-American students still exists. Patterns of inequitable distribution of access to African-American students constituted a considerable challenge to UMass Amherst. Future studies are encouraged to identify other organizational and programmatic factors that promote a compelling interest of diversity within flagship universities.;Keywords: Affirmative action, flagship universities, diversity, inclusion, race, college/university admissions, Critical Race Theory, race-neutral policies, minority student enrollment, African-American students, New England universities.