The fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court’s affirmative action ban drastically decreased enrollment opportunities for Students of Color and changed the landscape of higher education. In June 2023, the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions. Citing the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, the Court argued, “Many universities have… concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin.”[i] This landmark case has already reduced diversity in colleges’ incoming classes and the impact may be exacerbated by the incoming administration. For example, Harvard University shared that their fall undergraduate cohort is composed of only 14% Black Students, down from 18% in the prior class.[ii] Similarly, at MIT, the percentage of Black, Latiné/x, and Native American or Pacific Islander Students has been reduced from 25% in recent years to 16%.[iii] Stanford saw similar results: Black Student admissions went down from 9% to 5% compared to last year, while Latiné/x enrollment dropped by 12%.[iv]
The class of 2028 is only the first to be impacted by the court’s ruling, leaving four-year universities concerned about how to ensure diversity in their future student bodies. If top schools hope to promote inclusion and mitigate the effects of the affirmative action ban, they should widen the transfer pipeline by adjusting their recruitment efforts, admitting more students from two-year community colleges, as well as evaluating internal perceptions of transfer students.
Community colleges serve an integral role in providing millions of students a chance at social mobility and financial stability.[v] This is especially true for marginalized groups.[vi] Unequal access to four-year universities is in part the result of a discriminatory system. Research shows that universities recruit more heavily in wealthy, white communities while paying less visits to high schools populated by minoritized* students.[vii] Such an approach creates an inequitable applicant pool. Indeed, there is an overrepresentation of Students of Color at the two-year level,[viii] the majority of whom enter with the goal of transferring.[ix] Despite being a rich source of diversity, community colleges and their students are often viewed through a deficit lens.
There is a long-held societal belief that two-year institutions are less academically inclined, relegating them to secondary status.[x] Persistent misconceptions allege that community college students have low grades and test scores, take easier classes, and do not hope to enroll in a four-year university.[xi] The myth of community colleges as somehow inferior is not a new one.[xii] Some argue this subordinate position is found in the name itself, with some two-year institutions labeled as “junior” colleges.[xiii] This creates the false impression that the “best students” (i.e., wealthy students with higher grades and more resources) do not attend community college, and that only low achieving students do. As authors Daniel G. Solórzano and Tara J. Yosso explain, there are “racialized and classed dimensions underlying ‘standard’ [white] understandings of [good]…schools.”[xiv] Deeply rooted assumptions like these conflict with evidence demonstrating the high achievement levels of community college students who transfer to four-year universities.
Despite facing numerous barriers, transfer students who are able to enroll in four-years are academically well-prepared.[xv] Research has shown that transfer student performance and graduation rates are often identical to those of First-Time Freshmen (students who entered directly from high school).[xvi][xvii][xviii][xix][xx] Their success rate is particularly impressive when considering that transfer students are more likely to face certain obstacles than FTF students, such as lower family incomes and culture shock upon entering the four-year level.[xxi][xxii] University faculty and administrators contribute to this barrier by doubting transfer students’ abilities, which can shape students’ views of themselves.[xxiii] How students experience their college campus matters. It is the responsibility of universities to facilitate positive connections among students, faculty, and staff, as a sense of belonging relates to students’ college success.[xxiv] Four-year institutions need to readjust their perspective because evidence shows that two-year students are capable and ready. The question is: Are four-year universities creating a pathway for transfer students?
Historically, four-year campuses have prioritized incoming FTF students over transfer students as demonstrated by low transfer student acceptance rates. For instance, Harvard reports an average of 12 transfer students per year,[xxv] equating to less than 1% of accepted applicants.[xxvi] This number is not unique. In the Fall of 2022, a total of 3,141 transfer students applied to Stanford, with only forty-seven being admitted (1.5%).[xxvii] At MIT, 24 transfer students were admitted out of the 1,437 who applied (1.7%), while 4% of transfer students were admitted into Duke University.[xxviii][xxix] Interestingly, these are some of the campuses that have advocated most for racial-ethnic diversity, some of which have been hit hardest by the Supreme Court ruling.
Creating change requires universities to reflect on their own practices and biases. Numerous Students of Color begin at a community college because it is affordable and provides access to higher education, not because they are ill equipped for the academic rigor at a four-year. One solution to universities’ concerns about the Supreme Court ruling involves broadening recruitment efforts to Students of Color at community colleges that have historically been overlooked. This can be accomplished by fostering strong relationships with local two-year institutions. A second solution would entail changing policies to raise the number of transfer students admitted. Universities can engage in this work by critically examining how many transfers they accept per year and making intentional efforts to increase that threshold. Another step forward involves four-year institutions disrupting their long-held perceptions of transfer students. Doing so includes hosting professional development training at four-year universities on meeting transfer students’ needs and connecting these students to support services throughout their educational journey.
Universities can alleviate the impact of the affirmative action ban by expanding two-year admissions. A lack of diversity at top universities robs the campus community of rich narratives and ideas that flow in and out of classrooms when a variety of perspectives are included. This environment better equips students to navigate a diverse workforce, promotes greater empathy and connection, and prepares them for an ever-changing world.
Authors’ Note
*Minoritized is used rather than “minority” since the latter is a term that is falling out of favor due to negative connotation, as well as population trends that have changed the “majority/minority” dynamic.[xxx]
[i] Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, Vol. 20-1199
[ii] “A Brief Profile of the Class of 2028.” Admissions Statistics. Harvard College Admissions & Financial Aid, last modified October 24, 2024. https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/admissions-statistics; John S. Rosenberg, “Harvard Class of 2028 Demographics Disclosed,” Harvard Magazine, September 11, 2024, https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2024/09/harvard-college-admissions-data-demographics
[iii] Jessica Blake, “MIT’s Incoming Freshman Class is Less Diverse, Data Shows,” Inside Higher Ed (August 22, 2024): https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2024/08/22/mits-incoming-freshman-
[iv] Sofia Williams, “Preliminary Admissions Data for Class of 2028 Shows Drop in Black, Latino Enrollment,” The Stanford Daily, October 2, 2024, https://stanforddaily.com/2024/10/02/class-of-2028-admissions-data/
[v] Richard Fonte, “The Community College Alternative.” Academic Questions, 24(4), (2011): 419–428; Marián Vargas & Kim Dancy, “College Affordability Still Out of Reach for Students with Lowest Incomes, Students of Color.” Institute for Higher Education Policy. (Aug. 2023)
[vi] Postsecondary National Policy Institute. Fact sheet: Latino students (2021): https://pnpi.org/latino-students/#_edn1
[vii] Crystal Han, Ozan Jaquette, and Karina Salazar, Recruiting the Out-of-State University. The Joyce Foundation (2019): https://emraresearch.org/sites/default/files/2019-03/joyce_report.pdf
[viii] Elizabeth Baylor, “Closed Doors: Black and Latino Students Are Excluded from Top Public Universities.” Washington, DC: Center for American Progress, October 13, 2016, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/
[ix] Hans Johnson and Marisol Cuellar Mejía, Increasing Community College Transfers: Progress and Barriers
(2020): Public Policy Institute of California.
[x] Douglas Gould, Expanding Opportunity: Communicating About the Role of Community College (2004): Douglas Gould and Company.
[xi] Thomas Gauthier, “A Renewed Examination of the Stigma Associated with Community College Career and Technical Education.” Community College Journal of Research and Practice 44, no. 10-12, (2020): 870-884; National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) Community Colleges and Transfer (2019): https://www.nacacnet.org/globalassets/documents/publications/research/nacac-research-brief_community-colleges-and-transfer.pdf
[xii] Sara Goldrick-Rab, “Challenges and Opportunities for Improving Community College Student Success.” Review of Educational Research, 80, no. 3 (2010): 437–469, https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654310370163
[xiii] Debra D. Bragg, “How Transfer Partnerships Support More Equitable Baccalaureate Attainment.” New Directions
[xiv] Daniel G. Solórzano and Tara J. Yosso, “Critical Race Methodology: Counter-Storytelling as an Analytical Framework for Education Research. Qualitative Inquiry, 8, no. 1 (2002): 9, 23-44.
[xv] Di Xu et al, “Are Community College Transfer Students ‘A Good Bet’ for 4-Year Admissions? Comparing Academic and Labor-Market Outcomes Between Transfer and Native 4-Year College Students.” Journal of Higher Education 89, no. 4 (2018): 478–502, https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2018.1434280
[xvi] Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, and Jennifer Glynn, “Persistence: The Success of Students Who Transfer from Community Colleges to Selective Four-Year Institutions.” Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, (2019): https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED593989&site=ehost-live
[xvii] Leendert M. Craig, Successful Factors for Native and Community College Transfer Students in Engineering Technology at a Four-Year University (2019): (Publication No. 2228384493) [Doctoral Dissertation, East Tennessee State University]. ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global
[xviii] David B. Monaghan and Paul Attewell, “The Community College Route to the Bachelor’s Degree.” Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 37, no. 1, 70–91. (2015): doi: 10.3102/0162373714521865
[xix] John M. Krieg, Academic Performance of Native and Transfer Students. Office of Survey ResearchWestern Washington University (2010): https://cpb-us-el.wpmucdn.com/wp.wwu.edu/dist/d/4572/files/2019/02/OSRReport2010-02-21mgl9i-lstwty1.pdf
[xx] Shoumi Mustafa and Paula Compton, A Comparison of Graduation Rates: Transfers and Continuing Students at 4-Year University Main Campuses, Ohio Articulation and Transfer Network (September 2014): https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/transfercredit.ohio.gov/files/transfer/research/Comparison-of-Graduation- Rates.pdf
[xxi] Ibid.
[xxii] Moisés Próspero and Shetal Vohra-Gupta, “First Generation College Students: Motivation, Integration, and Academic Achievement. Community College Journal of Research and Practice 31 (2007): 963–975.
[xxiii] Xu et al., “Are Community College Transfer Students ‘a Good Bet’ for 4-Year Admissions?” 479.
[xxiv] Mi Young Ahn and Howard H. Davis, “Four Domains of Students’ Sense of Belonging to University.” Studies in Higher Education, 45, no. 3 (2020): 622-634.
[xxv] “Transfer Applicants,” Harvard College (2024): https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/apply/transfer-applicants
[xxvi] “Common Data Set,” Harvard University (2024): https://oira.harvard.edu/common-data-set/
[xxvii] “Common Data Set.” Stanford University (2023): https://ucomm.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/
[xxviii] “Common Data Set.” Institutional Research, Office of the Provost (October 15, 2021): https://ir.mit.edu/projects/2021-22-common-data-set/#D.%20TRANSFER%20ADMISSION
[xxix] Michael Austin and Annabel Tang, “‘This is My Institution Now’: A Glimpse Into the Duke Transfer Student Experience,” The Chronicle, September 25, 2023https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2023/09/duke-university-transfer-student-experience-project-transfer-experiential-orientation-credits
[xxx] Miri Song, “Rethinking minority status and ‘visibility.’” Comparative Migration Studies. 8, no. 4 (2020): https://doi.org/ 10.1186/s40878-019-0162-2.