DOJ accuses UC Davis of discriminatory admissions

The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday accused the University of California, Davis School of Medicine of discriminating based on race in its admissions process. The DOJ investigated the school’s admissions processes for six months before issuing a report that concluded the school sought to balance the ratio of minority-to-majority group students in its student body in violation of federal law, the department said.

What did the school allegedly do? While considering prospective students’ MCAT scores and undergrad GPAs, the school also rated them according to eight different socioeconomic factors in its admissions proceedings, the DOJ said. Those factors allowed the school to assess students in a facially race-neutral way, but in a way that still also allowed it to admit more minority students into its classrooms, despite their having lower test scores than other prospective students, the DOJ’s report asserted.

What does UC Davis have to say about this? UC Davis disputed the report’s findings in a statement on Wednesday. The DOJ’s findings did not accurately reflect the school’s admissions process, the statement said. UC Davis described its admissions process as “rigorous, individualized, and merit-based.” The school also explained that it was firmly committed to following both state and federal antidiscrimination laws.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about the DOJ’s recent assertion that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has pushed employers to engage in racial discrimination in its policies. For additional background, read my report in the WORLD archives about Trump’s early steps last year to eliminate the practice.