Wis. Stat. § 36.12
Wis. Stat. § 36.12
Student body diversity is a compelling state interest that can justify the use of race in university admissions. A race-conscious admissions program cannot use a quota system, but may consider race or ethnicity as a plus factor for an applicant, without insulating the individual from comparison with all other candidates for the available seats. An admissions program must be flexible enough to consider all pertinent elements of diversity in light of the particular qualifications of each applicant, and to place them on the same footing for consideration, although not necessarily according them the same weight. Race-conscious admissions policies must be limited in time. Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306, 123 S. Ct. 2325 (2003). See also Gratz v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 244, 156 L. Ed. 2d 304, 123 S. Ct. 2411 (2003). Under Grutter, strict scrutiny must be applied to any university admissions program using racial categories or classifications. Once the university has established that its goal of diversity is consistent with strict scrutiny, however, there must still be a further judicial determination that the admissions process meets strict scrutiny in its implementation. The university must prove that the means chosen by the university to attain diversity are narrowly tailored to that goal. Strict scrutiny imposes on the university the ultimate burden of demonstrating, before turning to racial classifications, that available, workable race-neutral alternatives do not suffice. Grutter did not hold that good faith would forgive an impermissible consideration of race. Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, See also Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, 579 U.S. ___, 136 S. Ct. 2198, 195 L. Ed. 2d 511 (2016).