Higher Education

Minority-targeted scholarships--scholarships for which some form of minority status is an eligibility criterion--have become controversial in recent years. Scholarships restricted to students of a specific race or ethnicity have raised concerns over perceived reverse discrimination. GAO found that although many schools awarded minority-targeted scholarships, these scholarships accounted for a small proportion of scholarships and scholarship dollars in academic year 1991-92. Most schools awarding minority-targeted scholarships used race or ethnicity as an eligibility criterion; few used gender, religion, or other minority status. Race or ethnicity, however, was rarely the sole criterion. Most minority-targeted scholarships used additional criteria, such as financial need or academic merit, for awarding funds. Furthermore, students receiving race- or ethnicity-based minority-targeted scholarships made up a small percentage of all racial or ethnic minority students. Schools funded minority-targeted scholarships primarily through (1) private endowments and (2) income from tuition and other fees. Four of the six schools GAO visited used minority-targeted scholarships to a great extent and found them valuable in recruiting and retaining minority students.

GAO found that: (1) MTS accounted for only a small portion of the total scholarships and scholarship dollars awarded between academic years 1991 and 1992; (2) most schools primarily base their MTS award decisions on race or ethnicity, financial need, and academic merit; (3) some schools base their award decisions on gender, religion, or other minority status categories; (4) the students receiving race- or ethnicity-based MTS make up a small percentage of all racial or ethnic minority students; (5) schools primarily fund MTS through private endowments and tuition and other fee income; and (6) most schools use MTS to a great extent and believe that MTS are valuable tools in recruiting and retaining racial or ethnic minority students and helping schools overcome the traditional difficulties they face in enrolling minority students.