Is “Race-Neutral” Really Race-Neutral?: Disparate Impact towards Underrepresented Minorities in Post-209 UC System Admissions

Abstract

Authors examine the proportion of undergraduate applications, admissions, and enrollments preceding, during, and after Proposition 209 while accounting for the relative growth in University of California eligibility for underrepresented minorities (URMs). They employed standard deviation analyses to measure dispersion of the URMs to non-URMs. Results suggest that disparate impact towards URMs persists, the magnitude is large, and affirmative action alone is insufficient to ensure an equitable admissions process.