This study investigates perceptions about the fairness and effectiveness of college admission preferences based on socioeconomic need. In a sample of 137 business students at a multicultural urban university in the western United States, such criteria were perceived favorably in terms of fairness and effectiveness for achieving diversity, helping targeted individuals, and improving institutional quality. However, favorable reactions to race and gender preferences persisted among minorities and women, suggesting that drop-offs in minority enrollments at universities that have replaced such preferences with need-related criteria may correspond to the appearance of reduced institutional commitment to diversity and related affirmative action goals.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/stanley_malos/6/