一項(xiàng)集體訴訟提交的新文件稱(chēng),,美國(guó)一些頂級(jí)大學(xué)在招生時(shí)會(huì)對(duì)有關(guān)系的富家子弟進(jìn)行特殊關(guān)照,。該訴訟最初的指控對(duì)象涵蓋17所大學(xué)。
例如,,喬治城大學(xué)(Georgetown University)時(shí)任校長(zhǎng)在愛(ài)達(dá)荷大會(huì)上與一位潛在女學(xué)生富有的父親見(jiàn)面之后,,將她的名字列在其“校長(zhǎng)清單上”,而這個(gè)愛(ài)達(dá)荷大會(huì)又被稱(chēng)之為“億萬(wàn)富翁夏令營(yíng)”,。這個(gè)案例源于12月17日提交給芝加哥聯(lián)邦法院的“學(xué)費(fèi)壟斷”訴訟(該訴訟于2022年提起)文件,。
盡管外界認(rèn)為這種特殊關(guān)照始終存在,但該文件也從一個(gè)罕見(jiàn)的視角讓人們看到了大學(xué)負(fù)責(zé)人和招生官員經(jīng)常在私底下進(jìn)行的操作,。這一現(xiàn)象揭示了各大高校為何會(huì)招收那些原本并不符合錄取條件的富家子弟,,原因在于其父母有著強(qiáng)大的關(guān)系網(wǎng),而且可能會(huì)在事后向?qū)W校捐贈(zèng)大量物資,。此事也讓人們對(duì)高校的公平性產(chǎn)生質(zhì)疑,。
麻省理工學(xué)院(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)招生主任斯圖爾特?施米爾在2018年的一封郵件中寫(xiě)道,,該校時(shí)任主席羅伯特?米拉德推薦了六名申請(qǐng)人,有四名被錄取,,其中包括兩名“原本不會(huì)錄取的學(xué)生”,。有兩名學(xué)生沒(méi)有被錄取是因?yàn)樗麄儭八讲粔颍蛘邲](méi)有得到米拉德的力薦,?!?/p>
施米爾在郵件中稱(chēng),米拉德十分注意淡化其左右招生決策的行為,,但他指出,,米拉德還為所有六名學(xué)生遞了條,并在隨后見(jiàn)了施米爾,,與其分享了“他認(rèn)為哪些學(xué)生應(yīng)優(yōu)先錄取”的洞見(jiàn),。
這些文件是一項(xiàng)訴訟案披露的最新指控,該訴訟稱(chēng)美國(guó)17家最知名大學(xué)合謀降低申請(qǐng)就讀學(xué)生的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)門(mén)檻,,并降低學(xué)校提供的助學(xué)金額度,,同時(shí)對(duì)富有捐贈(zèng)者的子弟給予特別關(guān)照。
原告律師羅伯特?吉爾伯特表示:“這種非法的合謀導(dǎo)致被告向?qū)W生提供的經(jīng)濟(jì)援助要遠(yuǎn)低于自由市場(chǎng)中本該提供的額度,?!?/p>
自提起訴訟以來(lái),有10所高校達(dá)成和解,,支付了共計(jì)2.84億美元的和解費(fèi),,包括向當(dāng)前和已畢業(yè)學(xué)生支付高達(dá)2000美元的費(fèi)用,因?yàn)樵谶^(guò)去20多年中,,這些學(xué)生的助學(xué)金可能遭到了學(xué)校的克扣,。這10所高校分別是布朗大學(xué)(Brown University)、芝加哥大學(xué)(University of Chicago),、哥倫比亞大學(xué)(Columbia University),、達(dá)特茅斯學(xué)院(Dartmouth College)、杜克大學(xué)(Duke University),、埃默里大學(xué)(Emory University),、西北大學(xué)(Northwestern University)、萊斯大學(xué)(Rice University),、范德比爾特大學(xué)(Vanderbilt University)和耶魯大學(xué)(Yale University),。
約翰·霍普金斯大學(xué)(Johns Hopkins University)正在進(jìn)行和解,但仍有六所大學(xué)選擇對(duì)簿公堂,,分別是加州理工學(xué)院(California Institute of Technology),、康奈爾大學(xué)(Cornell University)、喬治城大學(xué),、麻省理工學(xué)院,、圣母大學(xué)(University of Notre Dame)和賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)(University of Pennsylvania),。
麻省理工學(xué)院稱(chēng),,該起訴和有關(guān)錄取關(guān)照的起訴都是無(wú)稽之談,。
該校發(fā)言人金伯利?艾倫表示:“麻省理工學(xué)院在招生方面從未有過(guò)偏袒富人的歷史,事實(shí)正好相反,。在經(jīng)歷了數(shù)年的調(diào)查之后,,無(wú)數(shù)形成的文件證明,麻省理工在招生流程的獨(dú)立性方面有著無(wú)懈可擊的記錄,。原告不妨舉出哪怕一個(gè)案例,,來(lái)證明某位董事的推薦幫助左右了兩名本科申請(qǐng)人的錄取決定?!?/p>
在一份聲明中,,賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)亦表示該訴訟毫無(wú)根據(jù)可言,因?yàn)橛凶C據(jù)顯示,,學(xué)校并未因?qū)W生家庭向這所常青藤學(xué)校捐贈(zèng)或承諾捐贈(zèng)錢(qián)物而偏袒該學(xué)生,。
該校表示:“原告提起這一訴訟的目的就是想通過(guò)一些與本案完全無(wú)關(guān)的問(wèn)題,讓各高校因訴訟所聲稱(chēng)的招生做法感到難堪,?!?/p>
圣母大學(xué)官方亦稱(chēng)此案屬于莫須有。一位學(xué)校發(fā)言人在聲明中表示:“我們堅(jiān)信,,圣母大學(xué)招收的每一名學(xué)生都是完全符合錄取條件的,,而且為成功做好了準(zhǔn)備?!?/p>
不過(guò),,印第安納大學(xué)南本德分校(Indiana University South Bend)顯然招收了不符合錄取學(xué)習(xí)成績(jī)的富家子弟。
新提交的訴訟文件顯示,,圣母大學(xué)當(dāng)時(shí)主管招生的副校長(zhǎng)助理唐?畢夏普在2012年的一封郵件中毫不避諱地談到了“特殊利益”招生,,并稱(chēng)當(dāng)年新錄取學(xué)生的學(xué)習(xí)成績(jī)不如往年。
畢夏普寫(xiě)道,,在2012年招收的那一批學(xué)生中,,有38名申請(qǐng)者的學(xué)習(xí)成績(jī)“很差”。他說(shuō),,這些學(xué)生的錄取“在很大程度上受到了家族關(guān)系和資助史的左右”,。他還表示,“他們的大量捐贈(zèng)或捐贈(zèng)承諾影響了我們的決策,,今年比去年更嚴(yán)重,,但我們對(duì)此聽(tīng)之任之?!?/p>
他在郵件的最后一句話(huà)寫(xiě)道:“真的希望那些富人明年能多培養(yǎng)幾個(gè)聰明的孩子,!”
上周法院文件中提到的一些案例顯示,,學(xué)生只要支付全額學(xué)費(fèi)就能獲得優(yōu)待。在一份證詞中,,前范德比爾特大學(xué)招生主任稱(chēng),,在某些情況下,如果學(xué)生不需要助學(xué)金,,那么他在候選名單中的排名就會(huì)上浮,。
這 17 所學(xué)校隸屬于一個(gè)成立了數(shù)十年的團(tuán)體,后者獲得了國(guó)會(huì)的許可,,使用共通的公式來(lái)計(jì)算助學(xué)援助發(fā)放額,。這種安排原本可能會(huì)違反反壟斷法,但獲得了國(guó)會(huì)的準(zhǔn)許,,前提是這些學(xué)校設(shè)立了“需求回避”招生政策,,也就是在錄取時(shí)不能考慮學(xué)生的經(jīng)濟(jì)狀況。
該訴訟認(rèn)為,,很多大學(xué)都稱(chēng)自己在執(zhí)行“需求回避”政策,,但卻經(jīng)常性地給予校友和捐贈(zèng)者子女特殊關(guān)照。該訴訟稱(chēng),,學(xué)校的此類(lèi)做法違反了國(guó)會(huì)豁免,,并玷污了整個(gè)大學(xué)群體。
由于允許這一合作的法令到期,,該團(tuán)體已在幾年前解散,。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
美聯(lián)社(Associated Press)的教育板塊收到了多個(gè)私人基金會(huì)的支持。美聯(lián)社對(duì)所有內(nèi)容全權(quán)負(fù)責(zé),。敬請(qǐng)登陸網(wǎng)站AP.org,,查看美聯(lián)社的慈善事業(yè)合作標(biāo)準(zhǔn)、支持者清單以及受資助的報(bào)道領(lǐng)域,。
譯者:馮豐
審校:夏林
一項(xiàng)集體訴訟提交的新文件稱(chēng),,美國(guó)一些頂級(jí)大學(xué)在招生時(shí)會(huì)對(duì)有關(guān)系的富家子弟進(jìn)行特殊關(guān)照。該訴訟最初的指控對(duì)象涵蓋17所大學(xué),。
例如,,喬治城大學(xué)(Georgetown University)時(shí)任校長(zhǎng)在愛(ài)達(dá)荷大會(huì)上與一位潛在女學(xué)生富有的父親見(jiàn)面之后,將她的名字列在其“校長(zhǎng)清單上”,,而這個(gè)愛(ài)達(dá)荷大會(huì)又被稱(chēng)之為“億萬(wàn)富翁夏令營(yíng)”,。這個(gè)案例源于12月17日提交給芝加哥聯(lián)邦法院的“學(xué)費(fèi)壟斷”訴訟(該訴訟于2022年提起)文件。
盡管外界認(rèn)為這種特殊關(guān)照始終存在,,但該文件也從一個(gè)罕見(jiàn)的視角讓人們看到了大學(xué)負(fù)責(zé)人和招生官員經(jīng)常在私底下進(jìn)行的操作,。這一現(xiàn)象揭示了各大高校為何會(huì)招收那些原本并不符合錄取條件的富家子弟,原因在于其父母有著強(qiáng)大的關(guān)系網(wǎng),,而且可能會(huì)在事后向?qū)W校捐贈(zèng)大量物資,。此事也讓人們對(duì)高校的公平性產(chǎn)生質(zhì)疑,。
麻省理工學(xué)院(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)招生主任斯圖爾特?施米爾在2018年的一封郵件中寫(xiě)道,該校時(shí)任主席羅伯特?米拉德推薦了六名申請(qǐng)人,,有四名被錄取,,其中包括兩名“原本不會(huì)錄取的學(xué)生”。有兩名學(xué)生沒(méi)有被錄取是因?yàn)樗麄儭八讲粔?,或者沒(méi)有得到米拉德的力薦,?!?/p>
施米爾在郵件中稱(chēng),,米拉德十分注意淡化其左右招生決策的行為,但他指出,,米拉德還為所有六名學(xué)生遞了條,,并在隨后見(jiàn)了施米爾,與其分享了“他認(rèn)為哪些學(xué)生應(yīng)優(yōu)先錄取”的洞見(jiàn),。
這些文件是一項(xiàng)訴訟案披露的最新指控,,該訴訟稱(chēng)美國(guó)17家最知名大學(xué)合謀降低申請(qǐng)就讀學(xué)生的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)門(mén)檻,并降低學(xué)校提供的助學(xué)金額度,,同時(shí)對(duì)富有捐贈(zèng)者的子弟給予特別關(guān)照,。
原告律師羅伯特?吉爾伯特表示:“這種非法的合謀導(dǎo)致被告向?qū)W生提供的經(jīng)濟(jì)援助要遠(yuǎn)低于自由市場(chǎng)中本該提供的額度?!?/p>
自提起訴訟以來(lái),,有10所高校達(dá)成和解,支付了共計(jì)2.84億美元的和解費(fèi),,包括向當(dāng)前和已畢業(yè)學(xué)生支付高達(dá)2000美元的費(fèi)用,,因?yàn)樵谶^(guò)去20多年中,這些學(xué)生的助學(xué)金可能遭到了學(xué)校的克扣,。這10所高校分別是布朗大學(xué)(Brown University),、芝加哥大學(xué)(University of Chicago)、哥倫比亞大學(xué)(Columbia University),、達(dá)特茅斯學(xué)院(Dartmouth College),、杜克大學(xué)(Duke University)、埃默里大學(xué)(Emory University),、西北大學(xué)(Northwestern University),、萊斯大學(xué)(Rice University)、范德比爾特大學(xué)(Vanderbilt University)和耶魯大學(xué)(Yale University),。
約翰·霍普金斯大學(xué)(Johns Hopkins University)正在進(jìn)行和解,,但仍有六所大學(xué)選擇對(duì)簿公堂,分別是加州理工學(xué)院(California Institute of Technology),、康奈爾大學(xué)(Cornell University),、喬治城大學(xué),、麻省理工學(xué)院、圣母大學(xué)(University of Notre Dame)和賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)(University of Pennsylvania),。
麻省理工學(xué)院稱(chēng),,該起訴和有關(guān)錄取關(guān)照的起訴都是無(wú)稽之談。
該校發(fā)言人金伯利?艾倫表示:“麻省理工學(xué)院在招生方面從未有過(guò)偏袒富人的歷史,,事實(shí)正好相反,。在經(jīng)歷了數(shù)年的調(diào)查之后,無(wú)數(shù)形成的文件證明,,麻省理工在招生流程的獨(dú)立性方面有著無(wú)懈可擊的記錄,。原告不妨舉出哪怕一個(gè)案例,來(lái)證明某位董事的推薦幫助左右了兩名本科申請(qǐng)人的錄取決定,?!?/p>
在一份聲明中,賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)亦表示該訴訟毫無(wú)根據(jù)可言,,因?yàn)橛凶C據(jù)顯示,,學(xué)校并未因?qū)W生家庭向這所常青藤學(xué)校捐贈(zèng)或承諾捐贈(zèng)錢(qián)物而偏袒該學(xué)生。
該校表示:“原告提起這一訴訟的目的就是想通過(guò)一些與本案完全無(wú)關(guān)的問(wèn)題,,讓各高校因訴訟所聲稱(chēng)的招生做法感到難堪,。”
圣母大學(xué)官方亦稱(chēng)此案屬于莫須有,。一位學(xué)校發(fā)言人在聲明中表示:“我們堅(jiān)信,,圣母大學(xué)招收的每一名學(xué)生都是完全符合錄取條件的,而且為成功做好了準(zhǔn)備,?!?/p>
不過(guò),印第安納大學(xué)南本德分校(Indiana University South Bend)顯然招收了不符合錄取學(xué)習(xí)成績(jī)的富家子弟,。
新提交的訴訟文件顯示,,圣母大學(xué)當(dāng)時(shí)主管招生的副校長(zhǎng)助理唐?畢夏普在2012年的一封郵件中毫不避諱地談到了“特殊利益”招生,并稱(chēng)當(dāng)年新錄取學(xué)生的學(xué)習(xí)成績(jī)不如往年,。
畢夏普寫(xiě)道,,在2012年招收的那一批學(xué)生中,有38名申請(qǐng)者的學(xué)習(xí)成績(jī)“很差”,。他說(shuō),,這些學(xué)生的錄取“在很大程度上受到了家族關(guān)系和資助史的左右”。他還表示,,“他們的大量捐贈(zèng)或捐贈(zèng)承諾影響了我們的決策,,今年比去年更嚴(yán)重,但我們對(duì)此聽(tīng)之任之?!?/p>
他在郵件的最后一句話(huà)寫(xiě)道:“真的希望那些富人明年能多培養(yǎng)幾個(gè)聰明的孩子,!”
上周法院文件中提到的一些案例顯示,學(xué)生只要支付全額學(xué)費(fèi)就能獲得優(yōu)待,。在一份證詞中,,前范德比爾特大學(xué)招生主任稱(chēng),在某些情況下,,如果學(xué)生不需要助學(xué)金,,那么他在候選名單中的排名就會(huì)上浮。
這 17 所學(xué)校隸屬于一個(gè)成立了數(shù)十年的團(tuán)體,,后者獲得了國(guó)會(huì)的許可,,使用共通的公式來(lái)計(jì)算助學(xué)援助發(fā)放額。這種安排原本可能會(huì)違反反壟斷法,,但獲得了國(guó)會(huì)的準(zhǔn)許,,前提是這些學(xué)校設(shè)立了“需求回避”招生政策,也就是在錄取時(shí)不能考慮學(xué)生的經(jīng)濟(jì)狀況,。
該訴訟認(rèn)為,很多大學(xué)都稱(chēng)自己在執(zhí)行“需求回避”政策,,但卻經(jīng)常性地給予校友和捐贈(zèng)者子女特殊關(guān)照,。該訴訟稱(chēng),學(xué)校的此類(lèi)做法違反了國(guó)會(huì)豁免,,并玷污了整個(gè)大學(xué)群體,。
由于允許這一合作的法令到期,該團(tuán)體已在幾年前解散,。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))
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譯者:馮豐
審校:夏林
Children of the wealthy and connected get special admissions consideration at some elite U.S. universities, according to new filings in a class-action lawsuit originally brought against 17 schools.
Georgetown’s then-president, for example, listed a prospective student on his “president’s list” after meeting her and her wealthy father at an Idaho conference known as “summer camp for billionaires,” according to Tuesday court filings in the price-fixing lawsuit filed in Chicago federal court in 2022.
Although it’s always been assumed that such favoritism exists, the filings offer a rare peek at the often secret deliberations of university heads and admissions officials. They show how schools admit otherwise unqualified wealthy children because their parents have connections and could possibly donate large sums down the line, raising questions about fairness.
Stuart Schmill, the dean of admissions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote in a 2018 email that the university admitted four out of six applicants recommended by then-board chairman Robert Millard, including two who “we would really not have otherwise admitted.” The two others were not admitted because they were “not in the ball park, or the push from him was not as strong.”
In the email, Schmill said Millard was careful to play down his influence on admissions decisions, but he said the chair also sent notes on all six students and later met with Schmill to share insight “into who he thought was more of a priority.”
The filings are the latest salvo in a lawsuit that claims that 17 of the nation’s most prestigious colleges colluded to reduce the competition for prospective students and drive down the amount of financial aid they would offer, all while giving special preference to the children of wealthy donors.
“That illegal collusion resulted in the defendants providing far less aid to students than would have been provided in a free market,” said Robert Gilbert, an attorney for the plaintiffs.
Since the lawsuit was filed, 10 of the schools have reached settlements to pay out a total of $284 million, including payments of up to $2,000 to current or former students whose financial aid might have been shortchanged over a period of more than two decades. They are Brown, the University of Chicago, Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Northwestern, Rice, Vanderbilt and Yale.
Johns Hopkins is working on a settlement and the six schools still fighting the lawsuit are the California Institute of Technology, Cornell, Georgetown, MIT, Notre Dame and the University of Pennsylvania.
MIT called the lawsuit and the claims about admissions favoritism baseless.
“MIT has no history of wealth favoritism in its admissions; quite the opposite,” university spokesperson Kimberly Allen said. “After years of discovery in which millions of documents were produced that provide an overwhelming record of independence in our admissions process, plaintiffs could cite just a single instance in which the recommendation of a board member helped sway the decisions for two undergraduate applicants.”
In a statement, Penn also said the case is meritless that the evidence shows that it doesn’t favor students whose families have donated or pledged money to the Ivy League school.
“Plaintiffs’ whole case is an attempt to embarrass the University about its purported admission practices on issues totally unrelated to this case,” the school said.
Notre Dame officials also called the case baseless. “We are confident that every student admitted to Notre Dame is fully qualified and ready to succeed,” a university spokesperson said in a statement.
The South Bend, Indiana, school, though, did apparently admit wealthy students with subpar academic backgrounds.
According to the new court filings, Don Bishop, who was then associate vice president for enrollment at Notre Dame, bluntly wrote about the “special interest” admits in a 2012 email, saying that year’s crop had poorer academic records than the previous year’s.
The 2012 group included 38 applicants who were given a “very low” academic rating, Bishop wrote. He said those students represented “massive allowances to the power of the family connections and funding history,” adding that “we allowed their high gifting or potential gifting to influence our choices more this year than last year.”
The final line of his email: “Sure hope the wealthy next year raise a few more smart kids!”
Some of the examples pointed to in this week’s court filings showed that just being able to pay full tuition would give students an advantage. During a deposition, a former Vanderbilt admissions director said that in some cases, a student would get an edge on the waitlist if they didn’t need financial aid.
The 17 schools were part of a decades-old group that got permission from Congress to come up with a shared approach to awarding financial aid. Such an arrangement might otherwise violate antitrust laws, but Congress allowed it as long as the colleges all had need-blind admissions policies, meaning they wouldn’t consider a student’s financial situation when deciding who gets in.
The lawsuit argues that many colleges claimed to be need-blind but routinely favored the children of alumni and donors. In doing so, the suit says, the colleges violated the Congressional exemption and tainted the entire organization.
The group dissolved in recent years when the provision allowing the collaboration expired.
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