By Scott Waugh and Janina Montero
At UCLA, we believe in every one of our students because they are admitted on their merits alone. Consistent with state law, race and ethnicity play no role whatsoever in our holistic review admissions process.
Allegations to the contrary made by UCLA law professor Richard Sander and others are simply not true.
When in 2008 Professor Sander and others first made allegations that UCLA might be using race in admissions, UCLA’s faculty commissioned sociology professor Robert Mare to conduct an unbiased, independent study that found no evidence of bias in our holistic review admissions process.
“The holistic ranking process for freshman admissions at UCLA appears to work much as intended,” Mare concluded in his report. “Academic achievement and other personal qualities that contribute to a stimulating, diverse campus environment govern holistic ranking.”
Professor Sander’s claims that Mare’s study supports his assertions about the use of race in holistic review are baseless and unsupported by Mare’s conclusions.
Worse yet, Professor Sander’s suggestion that hundreds of admitted African American and Latino students do not belong at UCLA is offensive to the students he claims to be concerned about and is refuted by the success ““ ÂÂincluding the excellent graduation rates ““ of the very students he singles out.
We are especially disappointed by the Daily Bruin opinion piece that ignored the facts and took at face value Professor Sander’s baseless accusations.
UCLA adopted the holistic review admissions process in the fall of 2006 because it is the most thorough and fair method for evaluating a large number of applicants, including those from socioeconomically diverse backgrounds.
Holistic review allows UCLA to identify talented students with the potential to succeed by giving primary consideration to grades and admission test scores while simultaneously taking into account students’ full array of achievements, life experiences and challenges they may have overcome.
In 2011, the University of California Board of Regents endorsed holistic review as the preferred admissions method for all 10 UC campuses, and virtually all of them now use some version of it.
Holistic review has served our campus well. It would never have been adopted by UCLA or endorsed by the regents if it ran contrary to Proposition 209.
Professor Sander’s selective and tendentious interpretation of our holistic review data may generate publicity, but his unfounded claims do a great disservice to our students and our campus.
Waugh is the executive vice chancellor and provost, and Montero is the vice chancellor for Student Affairs.