The Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action in college admissions has begun affecting scholarships, with universities in at least two states saying they will no longer consider race when awarding the funding.
In the wake of the court's ruling that race-based admissions policies are unconstitutional, the University of Kentucky and the University of Missouri system announced that they would drop race as a factor in scholarship programs. Though the court did not address scholarships, other schools are expected to follow, as many face pressure to change.
"We are still reviewing the details of the ruling, but, based on our initial understanding, it appears that the court has restricted the consideration of race with respect to admissions and scholarships," University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto said following the ruling, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The high court's conservative majority struck down admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, the nation's oldest private and public colleges, respectively. The cases alleged that race-conscious admissions programs help Black and Latino applicants while hurting Asian applicants.
The vote was 6-3 in the North Carolina case and 6-2 in the Harvard case, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson sitting out the Harvard case because she had been a member of an advisory governing board there.
The growing uncertainty over how higher education institutions will handle race, gender, and class in the aftermath of the court's decision was underscored by the swift moves to end race-based scholarships.
Paulette Granberry Russell, president and chief executive of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, told the Journal that the Supreme Court addressed the use of race only in admissions and said it was premature to extend the decision to scholarships.
"We have been concerned about the chilling effect that the decision might have on efforts to diversify campuses, as well as to cultivate inclusive environments, and we now see how this is already playing out," she said.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, sent letters to the University of Missouri system and Missouri State University hours after the Supreme Court opinion was made public, calling on them to "immediately cease their practice of using race-based standards to make decisions about things like admissions, scholarships, programs, and employment."
According to University of Missouri spokesperson Uriah Orland, approximately 5.3% of financial aid across the system is awarded through scholarships and other aid that take an applicant's race or ethnicity into consideration. In the past academic year, that added up to roughly $16 million.
These scholarships will be honored for the 2023-24 school year, Orland said, but the university will abide by the attorney general's directive and discontinue the awards in the future.
"The Supreme Court decision certainly provided more guidance and direction for us as we look at scholarships and financial aid," Orland told the Journal.
Jay Blanton, a spokesperson for the University of Kentucky, told the outlet the school doesn't have any scholarships that are race-exclusive, but said "there are numerous scholarships that consider race as one factor among many."
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