“Applications Quest allows you to achieve a diverse group of admitted applicants in line with school academic standards and objectives, without giving preference to any racial group or ethnicity in admissions decisions,” Gilbert said. (The owners of CMA Publishing have an ownership interest in AQ.)
Applications Quest, a computer software program, groups a school’s applicants into numerous clusters, each containing students with similar backgrounds and qualifications. The students are grouped using a broad range of common attributes rather than a single criterion such as race. Applications may then be selected from each cluster to ensure a diverse group of accepted applicants.
“In order to give preference, you must identify the thing you want to give preference to,” said Gilbert. “The software has no ability to say this is race, let me [apply a few] extra points to their application. Every difference [race, gender and GPA] is treated in an equal way,” Gilbert says.
Joyce Smith, a panelist and chief executive officer of the National Association of College Admission Counseling, remained neutral on the issue of affirmative action but insisted on the necessity of programs that make higher education accessible for underrepresented minorities, who will soon be a majority in this country. Colleges have to change to become more inclusive, she said.
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