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Local Justice in the Allocation of College Admissions: A Statistical Study of Beliefs Versus Practice

NCJ Number
170726
Journal
Social Justice Research Volume: 9 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1996) Pages: 239-258
Author(s)
P Conley
Date Published
1996
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This study examines factors that influence admission decisions at a highly selective private university.
Abstract
A statistical analysis of 300 admission decisions was used to compare admissions officers' beliefs about how the admissions process works with their actual pattern of decisions. The empirical analysis both confirmed and denied what the official publications state and what admissions officers reported in interviews. Their procedures were not formulaic, and no single factor was of overriding importance when assigning ratings or deciding admission; however, factors such as applicant race, gender, socioeconomic class, relationship to alumni, and athletic ability figure into both ratings and admission. These criteria are not mentioned in brochures, and the effect of some of the variables is denied by admissions officers when asked about the admissions process. To the extent that ascribed characteristics such as race, gender, social class, and relationship to an alumnus are part of the admissions process, applicants may feel that they have little control over the process, since they do not have an equal opportunity to acquire these characteristics. Both distributive and procedural justice concerns are therefore central to debates about limiting the discretion of admissions officers. Controversy about admissions procedures will continue as long as there are differences of opinion about the desired justice principles and their application. 4 tables and 20 references

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