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Michigan Civil Rights Initiative Review Status
President Rao asked that the University conduct a systematic review of its programs and operations to examine the impact
of the new Article I, Section 25 of the Michigan Constitution (”Proposal 2”) that forbids certain “preferential treatment”
in public employment, public education, and public contracting.
As reviews of each program or segment of the University are completed, a brief report will be posted on this page,
with a date of completion. Click on the area name below for details concerning that area's review.
Undergraduate Admissions - Completed January 12, 2007
CMU’s undergraduate admissions process does not use any
“preferential treatment.” It does not admit students
based on a “point system” of any sort. The admission
process is holistic and considers:
- Grade Point Average
- ACT/SAT test scores
- Rigor of the academic courses successfully completed
- Trend in grades
- Involvement in high school or community
- Letters of recommendation
The Admissions Office aggressively recruits students
through a number of activities: direct mail, on-site
admission events, high school and community college
visits, open houses, pre-orientation events, and
telephone follow-up. These activities are aimed at all
students, including students of color.
The University will continue to aggressively recruit
students of color by using the above activities in and
with high schools with large populations of students of
color and at community colleges. It will assure that it
participates in college nights and similar activities at
high schools in urban areas. It will continue to monitor
its publications to assure that they let students of
color know that they are wanted and welcome at CMU. It
will do these things to assure equal opportunity for all
prospective students.
Undergraduate admissions has, in the past, focused
mailings about certain scholarships on students who are
members of ethnic and racial minority groups. The
applications for these scholarships are available to all
students at College Nights and are prominently displayed
in the Admissions Office lobby area, but have been sent
only to students who are members of ethnic or racial
minority groups. In future, these mailings will go to
all students who reside in a zip code area from which
the university wants to enroll more students because
students from this area are underrepresented in the
student body.
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Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid - Completed January 12, 2007
Federal financial aid programs administered by the
Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid (grants, loans
and work study) do not extend “preferential treatment”
to students on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity,
or national origin. When combined, these forms of aid
represent approximately 66% of annual financial aid
funding to CMU students.
Only four financial aid awards that state a preference
or requirement concerning race, sex, ethnicity, or
national origin have been identified.
Two of these prefer Native Americans. We believe that
these awards express a preference on the basis of
sovereignty status of Native Americans. We will not be
changing these at this time. One of the two is the
Michigan Indian Tuition Waiver program. We will continue
to monitor legal opinions from sources that specialize
in these issues and will reconsider CMU’s position if
necessary.
Two scholarships have been funded annually by a major
corporation. A third is funded by a different major
corporation. We have initiated discussions with the
corporate representatives to agree upon alternative
wording that will continue to promote diversity but not
give preferential treatment on the basis of the
categories listed in the constitutional amendment.
CMU has a number of scholarships which have been
developed carefully over the past years to encourage a
commitment to the elimination of racism and the
promotion of equal opportunity without preferring
persons of a particular gender, race or ethnicity. The
University will continue to administer these
scholarships. We will assure that all students know of
the availability of these scholarships and that
“preferential treatment” does not occur in the selection
process.
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Career Services - Completed January 15, 2007
Career Services adheres to all federal and state equal
employment opportunity laws and the university’s
affirmative action protocol when matching qualified
students to career opportunities. The unit does not
conduct a resume database search based on any
discriminatory or employer-designated desired
attributes, including sex, race, ethnicity, color, or
national origin. Career Services does not disclose to
any hiring authority students’ race, ethnicity, gender
or birthdate.
A student’s gender is usually obvious from the name.
Although not encouraged, students may choose to upload a
picture to their candidate profile located on the unit’s
resume database management system e-recruiting.
Career Services shares with students external employment
and graduate fellowship and internship opportunities
which are targeted toward members of specific protected
groups. The University will consider within the next
three months whether it may continue to do this.
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Grants and Contracts - Completed January 15, 2007
Grants and Contracts has reviewed all federal and
private grants to identify any that might be affected by
Article I, Section 25.
Two federal grants have been identified that may require
“preferential treatment.” They require the university to
aggressively recruit persons of color into academic
programs. They are exempt from immediate compliance with
Article I, Section 25, because the constitutional
amendment “does not prohibit action that must be taken
to establish or maintain eligibility for any federal
program, if ineligibility would result in a loss of
federal funds to the state.” The amendment also states:
“This section applies only to action taken after the
effective date of this section.”
CMU will conduct further discussions with the units
sponsoring these grants to review what is actually done
to attract women and students of color, whether changes
can be made during the period of the grant, and to
monitor whether or not it may renew these grants and
contracts when they come up for renewal.
One pending grant application is for the operation of
the Upward Bound Program with Northern High School in
Detroit. This grant is to support and encourage students
from low-income families, and students who would be
potentially first generation college graduates. The
grant requires strategies to involve more male
participants in the project. CMU will review whether the
strategies can be adapted to comply with Article I,
Section 25. Some federal applications require a
commitment to accept the grant at the time the
application is submitted. CMU will review what
commitments have been made regarding this grant and
whether it is exempt from immediate compliance because
“ineligibility would result in a loss of federal funds
to the state.”
One pending grant application requests fellowships for a
doctoral program. One of the objectives is to increase
the number of women and other underrepresented
minorities in the doctoral program. CMU will review
whether the strategies proposed can be adapted to comply
with Article I, Section 25. Some federal applications
require a commitment to accept the grant at the time the
application is submitted. CMU will review what
commitments have been made regarding this grant and
whether it is exempt from immediate compliance because
“ineligibility would result in a loss of federal funds
to the state.”
The Office of Grants and Contracts will monitor new
grant applications and consult with General Counsel if
there are questions of compliance with Article I,
Section 25.
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