On Feb. 14, the U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to administrators at colleges and universities around the country, including the University of Utah.
The “Dear Colleague” letter from Craig Trainor, the department’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights, addresses the use of race in education and explains the Trump administration’s interpretation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.
On Feb. 28, the Department of Education posted additional guidance in the form of a FAQ. That documents is posted here.
FAQs
The University of Utah does not use race as a factor in admissions.
The University of Utah discontinued mandatory use of standardized tests (ACT/SAT) in admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The university’s admissions process has remained “test-optional” since. GPA is a better predictor of student success. Students are still allowed to ask application reviewers to consider their ACT/SAT test scores along with their GPA.
The University of Utah transformed the way it awards centrally-administered scholarships several years ago, adopting a “pool and match” system.
When private donors have requested that their funds support specific groups, we select all scholarship recipients on the basis of merit and need, without consideration of the donor-prescribed characteristics. Then, we match those particular scholarships with student awardees who meet the specified characteristics. We ensure that all students who are similarly-qualified receive a scholarship and the same level of funding.
The university is not responsible for scholarships students receive from independent third parties outside the university.
The Native Student Scholarship (and third-party scholarships awarded to members of the Ute Tribal Nation) is awarded based on a political designation—membership in a federally-recognized Native American tribe—not on an identity characteristic.
At this time, there has been no change to the federal financial aid system, including the federal student loan programs—Direct Student Loans and Parent PLUS Loans. These federal loan programs remain available, and we are closely monitoring any potential changes at the federal level.
Should there be any updates or modifications to federal loan options, we will ensure that students and families are informed as soon as possible.
Please reach out to the university’s financial aid and scholarships office with questions by emailing financialaid@utah.edu or calling (801) 581-6211.
Multiple laws—including the Privacy Act, Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Higher Education Act, etc.— protect the storage of and access to those data.
Although the University of Utah uses the FAFSA to award need-based financial aid, we recognize it is up to each student and their family to assess whether to submit the FAFSA. University of Utah personnel take very seriously their obligations under federal law to protect access to and use of such data.