Business School Faculty Vote Revises Minority Admissions

The Business School officially dropped special provisions for minority admissions yesterday because increasing numbers of minority applicants are now meeting regular acceptance standards.

The Business School faculty voted by acclamation to return to an "open admissions" policy, with emphasis on minority recruitment but without the "second stage" review of minority applicants instituted in 1970.

Richard F. Meyer '54, professor of Business Administration and chairman of the subcommittee which recommended the change, said last night it reflects the improved quality of minority applicants.

Administrators were dissatisfied with the low number of minority students in the Business School for many years. In 1970 they took steps to increase minority student enrollment which created new problems, Meyer said.

Initial Rejections

The change was a two-stage reviewing policy for minority applicants, he said. A three-man subcommittee reviewed the applications of minority students initially rejected in the admissions process and accepted some of them.

This policy may have resulted in the admission of some individuals not qualified to do well in the Business School, Meyer said. A large number of minority students failed in 1972. As a result, the number of minority students accepted in 1973 dropped from 78 to 46, he said.

The failures caused concern among administrators, Meyer added. "We were worried about the personal hardship of the minority students who failed, and also that the failures might cast suspicion on the qualifications of all minority students."

A greater number of qualified minority students are now accepted without a second stage review, Meyer said.

Dean W. Currie '69, director of Business School Admissions, said last night all students accepted in 1976 were reviewed under the same process, without two stages. Fifty-five of the 775 accepted that year were minority students.

"We found we could have substantive minority enrollment without a second review," Currie said.

"We are still unhappy about the relatively low number of Afro-American, Native American, Hispanic-American and Oriental-American students," Meyer said. Increased recruitment efforts in future years should bring in more and more highly qualified minority applicants, he said.

Recruitment

Anita R. Goodman, co-chairman of the Afro-American Student Union at the Business School, said last night she supports the policy change.

Although the new admissions policy will benefit minority students, the key to getting more minority applicants lies in expanded recruitment efforts, she said.

The minority enrollment in typical "feeder" colleges for the Business School has been rising since 1970, resulting in a larger pool of qualified applicants, Meyer said.

Traditional Careers

Minority students have traditionally entered careers in law, medicine or education rather than business because it was easier for them to practice these vocations in their own communities, he said.

"We're trying to increase the awareness of minority students so they consider management as a career as well," Meyer said.

Meyer's faculty-student subcommittee began reviewing the admissions policy changes last spring