Cedar Falls / Des Moines, Iowa — University of Northern Iowa President Mark Nook says the US Supreme Court ruling that ended affirmative action in college admissions doesn’t alter the ways a prospective student’s application is evaluated.
Nook says his university has never used quotas as a rigid means of admitting students of different backgrounds — and instead relies on metric’s like the Board of Regent’s admissions index.
He says extracurricular activities are another way they evaluate a student to see if they are prepared for the coursework.
For the 2022 academic year, ten percent of UNI’s student population belonged to non-white minority groups. While some elite colleges have ended their practice of legacy admissions that give preference to the children of alumni following the court ruling, Drake University President Marty Martin says his school won’t end its program.
Martin says the school works hard to attract students from all backgrounds.
Martin says more than a quarter of Drake’s student body are students of color. Martin and Nook made their comments on Iowa Public Radio’s “River to River” program.
