Education Department opens investigation into Harvard’s legacy admissions

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BOSTON (AP) — Opening a new front in legal battles over college admissions, the U.S. Department of Education has launched a civil rights investigation into Harvard University’s policies on legacy admissions.

https://apnews.com/article/legacy-admissions-harvard-affirmative-action-diversity-24321f3814d5feec6d380d18c8b6c2e1?

Why this matters: A complaint was filed earlier this month on behalf of Black and Latino community groups in New England by Lawyers for Civil Rights, a nonprofit based in Boston. The group argued that students with legacy ties are up to seven times more likely to be admitted to Harvard, can make up nearly a third of a class and that about 70% are white. For the Class of 2019, about 28% of the class were legacies with a parent or other relative who went to Harvard.   Ending legacy preferences is “one of many steps that Harvard and other universities can take to increase access, diversity, and equity in admissions,” said Jane Sujen Bock, a board member of the Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, which includes alumni, student and staff.

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