UW board approves policy

Megan Twohey reports in an a seven column-inch article on the bottom of page 4B of today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. That's the page with the death notices; page 5B is the Saturday Religion News ghetto.

Previously,

Aside from UW-Madison, many campuses have used a rigid academic formula based on class rank and ACT scores to decide which students to admit.

Under the new "holistic" policy,

...non-academic factors would be considered, too, including "student experiences, leadership qualities, motivation, special talents, status as a non-traditional or returning adult, veteran, and whether the applicant is socioeconomically disadvantaged or in a historically underrepresented racial or ethnic group."

Update: If you look at Wisconsin Statutes sections 36.11(3)(a) and 36.12(1), you might wonder how this can be legal. Ryan J. Foley of the Associated Press reports in The Janesville Gazette UW: Admissions plan legal despite state laws barring use of race, including this from David Walsh, a Madison lawyer and president of the UW System Board of Regents.

"We think that clearly those two statutes do not preclude us from moving forward," Walsh said. But, he added, "We may be wrong in the long run."

(via Dad29)