Supreme Court Cases: Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard and UNC
America’s higher education institutions have long recognized and cultivated the educational benefits of diversity. Current holistic admissions practices adhere to a legal framework that has grounded diversity efforts for decades. AACRAO believes
these practices are instrumental in helping institutions to identify students who are likely to thrive in their educational programs.
There is a long history of case law that supports the use of holistic assessment’s focus on diversity
and confirms that colleges and universities have a compelling interest in ensuring student body diversity. As student demographics undergo rapid change, more colleges and universities are looking beyond traditional measures to admit future students.
To remove the consideration of non-academic factors is unfair to applicants for whom this is a critical part of their life and would deprive applicants of full and due consideration of their lived experiences.