미국의 공립대학 입학정책에서 Affirmative Action 운영 사례와 법원 판결의 최근 동향

Abstract

Affirmative action programs in the public universities' admissions policy of United States have aroused much controversy based on the quota system and preferential treatment. At one time, the affirmative action implementing in the universities admissions policy was in the moment of danger of abolition by the courts' decisions and passage of some state's Civil Rights Initiatives. Despite of much difficulties in the process of implementing the affirmative action programs in universities admissions policy, public universities have maintained its basic framework of affirmative action after it has been legitimatized by Bakke decision(1978) and Grutter decision(2003) by the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court in two decisions upheld and reaffirmed the constitutionality of using race as one of many factors in making admission decisions at the public universities. In Hopwood decision(1996), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled against the affirmative action of considering race in the admissions process and decided that universities' policy was a violation of the Constitution's equal-protection guarantee. The U.S. Court of Appeals through this controversial Hopwood decision reversed the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court's Bakke decision as binding precedent and caused split over opinions of the sensitive one among the American public policies. Finally, In Fisher decision(2011), the judicial branch of federal government coincided regarding universities's use of affirmative action policy in admissions standards. However, some states such as California, Washington, Michigan passed Initiative, banning affirmative action in higher education, public contracting, and hiring and kept universities from using race, gender, ethnicity, or national origin as a factor in admissions process. Furthermore Anti-affirmative action organizations still continues to file complaints against universities in an attempt to discourage them from developing or continuing with their affirmative action programs. There are different opinions about application of affirmative action in higher education admissions policy between the judicial branch and the public and some states.