DOJ, Education Dept launch investigation into Yale over alleged admissions discrimination

The Department of Justice and the Department of Education have launched an investigation focused on whether Yale University illegally discriminates against Asian-American applicants in its admissions process, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The newspaper reported that the investigation stems from a 2016 complaint filed by the Asian American Coalition for Education and other Asian-American organizations, which claimed that Yale, Brown University and Dartmouth specifically treated Asian-American applicants differently based on race.

The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights notified the group behind the complaint on Wednesday that it is joining the probe.

{mosads}The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division opened its investigation into potential admissions discrimination at Yale in April, the Journal reported. 

Yale President Peter Salovey in a statement to the university community defended the school’s admissions policies and denied that it discriminates against any group in the process.

“I want to assure you that while Yale will cooperate fully with the inquiries conducted by the federal government, we also will vigorously defend our ability to create a diverse and excellent academic community,” Salovey said in the statement, which was obtained by The Hill.

Salovey said the university seeks to create a diverse student body through its admissions process and looks beyond academic criteria when determining which students are accepted.

He noted that the number of Asian-American students who arrive as freshmen each year has grown from 14 percent in the class of 2007 to 21.7 percent in the class of 2022.

“The creation of a diverse academic community has not come at the expense of applications of any racial or ethnic background,” Salovey said.

The investigation into Yale is the latest in a string of efforts from the Trump administration to scrutinize alleged biased through race-based admissions.

The Department of Justice last month backed a group of Asian-American students suing Harvard for alleged discrimination in the admissions process.

In July, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded guidance finalized under the Obama administration that encouraged diversity in higher education, arguing that Americans should not be denied admission to a school based on race.

Updated at 1:42 p.m.