Which Tennessee schools will be affected by affirmative action ruling?

While the Supreme Court’s ruling that race-conscious admissions violate the Constitution made headlines, it directly affects only a small portion of the country’s colleges and universities.

For most schools in Tennessee, as well as across the country, the business of admitting students will continue just like it did before the ruling in Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College. In fact, likely just one school in the state will change its admissions practices in response to it.

The Tennessean sent emails to more than 20 of the state’s largest public and private higher education institutions. All that responded expressed that their admissions practices will, for the most part, stay the same, except for Vanderbilt University.

Vanderbilt, the state’s most selective college, is poised to make changes to its policies, although it hasn’t explicitly said so to The Tennessean. A university spokesperson earlier this month pointed The Tennessean to Chancellor Daniel Diermeier’s statement from June 29, the day of the ruling, which condemns the court’s decision but doesn’t specifically explain its implications for the school.

In that statement, Diermeier said Vanderbilt is waiting for the results of a task force appointed in May to react to this scenario after the court heard arguments in the case in October.

As reported by school newspaper The Vanderbilt Hustler, Vanderbilt’s Common Data Set — a collection of self-reported answers to standardized questions about a school’s admissions, financial aid, demographics, etc. — said that race was “considered” but was not “important” or “very important” in admissions decisions.

While the court’s decision strikes down the practice of specifically considering race as a factor for admissions, it does allow institutions to consider “an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.”

“We are encouraged that the court’s decision allows us to continue to consider an applicant’s statements about how race has affected their life,” Diermeier said in his statement. “The broad and diverse experiences and points of view of our students enrich every student’s education at Vanderbilt and provide important avenues for growth and development.”

Eight years earlier, Vanderbilt was one of 13 prestigious colleges and universities that wrote to the nation’s highest court urging the justices to allow for the continued consideration of race in college admissions in another case, Fisher v. University of Texas. In 2022, it submitted another amicus brief to the court ahead of oral arguments in the Students for Fair Admissions case.

Belmont University also reported that race is “considered” but not “important” or “very important” in admissions, according to its Common Data Set. However, a spokesperson for Belmont said that it doesn’t expect a “significant impact” to its admissions process.

“Our approach to enrollment management is grounded in evaluating the unique lived experiences of each applicant and understanding how those experiences can enhance our vibrant community,” said Belmont University Vice President for Enrollment Services Chris Gage. “As such, we believe our processes will not be significantly impacted. Belmont continues to comply with all of its legal obligations, and we will be monitoring for further developments.”

Unlike Vanderbilt, which admits just 7% of applicants, Belmont admits more than 85%. Research shows that affirmative action bans reduce minority enrollment at highly selective schools while overall college enrollment of minorities remains roughly the same.

Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanMealins.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Which Tennessee schools will be affected by affirmative action ruling?