Minnesota colleges weigh effects of affirmative action ruling

Varying pictures emerged at other colleges. St. Olaf College didn’t provide exact figures, but the number of Black, Asian and students reporting two or more races fell, while there were “a few more” Latino students, said Chris George, St. Olaf’s associate vice president for enrollment . He said he thinks the court decision “played a role,” though FAFSA problems also had a disproportionate impact on first-generation and lower-income students.

At the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, officials didn’t have detailed information about racial groups but said 37% of first-year students identified as people of color. Numbers have risen since 2019, when 25% of first-year students fit that description. This year saw the largest incoming class since 1965.

“We also believe this is the most racially and ethnically diverse cohort on record,” said Keri Risic, executive director of admissions for the office of undergraduate admissions at the U’s Twin Cities campus.

Across the country, college administrators had been preparing for the Supreme Court decision for months when it was announced.

The decision came at a challenging time for many higher education institutions because the pool of prospective college students is shrinking, partly because of declining birthrates over a decade ago. The population of college-age students is also becoming more diverse.

By 2036, about 40% of Minnesota public high school graduates will be people of color, according to projections from the nonprofit Midwestern Higher Education Compact.