In a state famous for its corruption, scandal is no surprise.
University of Illinois officials were caught red-handed last May in an embarrassing admissions scheme. A Chicago Tribune investigation revealed that both U of I Trustees and Illinois politicians successfully pushed less-qualified students on a “clout list” through the admissions process. E-mail conversations incriminated the U of I president, chancellor and admissions officials, and all have since resigned.
But what may be politics as usual in Illinois has sparked a national debate surrounding preferential treatment in the undergraduate admissions process, specifically those admitted because of their wealth or connections.
Although we can’t compare the events at Illinois to the admissions process at Duke—U of I is a public institution, beholden to Illinois taxpayers—given the larger conversation within the higher education community, it is an appropriate time to evaluate the merit of development admits at Duke.
Accepting individuals because of their family’s financial privilege is a bit unsettling, but pursuing development admits is good for the University as a whole as long as it is done in a prudent, controlled manner.
In 2006, The Wall Street Journal described Duke’s “winning strategy” of systematically admitting development cases. This praise was merited, as contributions from these students’ families helped transform Duke from a homogenous southern college to a prestigious, international university. Without these development cases, our University would look a lot different today.
Development admits have served us well in the past, and although the number of such cases has likely declined since the University achieved its meteoric rise in the rankings, they still serve a purpose today.
For one, donations from wealthy families helped to fuel our recent financial aid initiative, allowing Duke to recruit hundreds of students from lower economic backgrounds and admit students on a need-blind basis.
In addition to making our endowment competitive among elite universities, money from development admits also goes directly to improving our facilities and developing University projects, two defining features of our institution.
And given our current financial situation, these donations could play a small role in helping Duke ride out budget shortfalls.
This practice of catering to the wealthy, however, does raise some concerns. But for now, Duke has successfully managed attracting development admits without compromising the academic experience of the University. Moreover, Duke is not haphazard in admitting its students, and as far as we are concerned, the admissions office has a very high standard for each individual they admit into the incoming class, development case or not.
At the end of the day, the admissions process at a highly selective university is not a zero-sum game—one development admit cannot “take” a spot away from another prospective student. And with so many different factors contributing to each admissions decision, it is not unreasonable that the potential to contribute financially to the University should differentiate two well-qualified applicants.
As long as development cases continue to better—not challenge or change—the character of Duke, they are a useful tool to maintain and enhance our University’s prestige.
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