Categorizing respondents based on views across four dimensions
In addition to their overall approval or disapproval of considering race and ethnicity as a factor in admissions decisions in order to increase racial and ethnic diversity, survey respondents were asked additional questions about four areas of potential impact:
- Whether the consideration of race and ethnicity in admissions decisions makes the overall admissions process of these colleges more or less fair (more fair=positive, less fair=negative, neither/not sure=neutral)
- Whether the students who are accepted to these colleges are more or less qualified (more qualified=positive, less qualified=negative, neither/not sure=neutral)
- Whether this makes students’ overall educational experiences at these colleges better or worse (better=positive, worse=negative, neither/not sure=neutral)
- Whether this is good or bad for ensuring equal opportunity for Americans of all racial and ethnic backgrounds (good=positive, bad=negative, neither/not sure=neutral)
(See topline for full question wording.) In addition to analyzing each of these questions individually, the report includes a discussion of a summary measure.
