The University of Wisconsin system has told its admissions officers that they may use race and income in decisions on who to admit to their schools to increase diversity.

The goal is to increase diversity among the system's 160,000 students, who are overwhelmingly white and increasingly well-off financially.

But Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, and others have questioned whether the policy complies with a state law that bans race-based tests in admissions. In a statement Thursday, Nass said the regents were ignoring the law and the will of the people.

"The unaccountable Board of Regents has chosen a confrontation with the taxpayers of this state regarding its politically correct admissions policy,'' said Nass, who chairs the Assembly Colleges and Universities committee.

This will be a court fight at some point. I doubt this makes a big difference at the Madison campus, but it will have some impact at other campuses. Perhaps it's an attempt to pick up students who might be dissuaded from Michigan schools by Prop 2.

Labels: higher education, Wisconsin