Case Particulars

Tribunal

Office for Civil Rights, Department of Education

Date Filed

November 7, 2023

Docket No.

OCR Case No. 05-24-2099

Case Status

OCR Complaint Filed; OCR Complaint Dismissed as Resolved

Case Overview

University of North Dakota School of Law had a racially discriminatory program program that reduced tuition for specific racial and ethnic groups “in order to encourage racial and ethnic diversity within [its] student body.”

In 2021, the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education promulgated a policy that institutions of higher education in the state would be “encouraged” to “provide for … [a] waiver of tuition and fees …. to promote enrollment of a culturally diverse student body.” Based on this authority, the law school created, implemented and promoted a program called the Cultural Diversity Tuition Waiver providing partial waivers of eligible undergraduate students’ tuition. Only students who were “African American/Black,” “Alaska Native,” “Asian/Asian American,” “Hawaiian Native/Other Pacific Islander,” “Hispanic/Latino,” “Native American/American Indian” or “Multiracial/Multiethnic” were eligible for the program.  As such, CDW program was only available to non-white applicants.

Equal Protection Project is the Complainant in this matter, which is under evaluation by the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights.

On March 4, 2024, the University informed OCR that it modified the eligibility requirements for the Scholarship and Waiver to permit all students, regardless of race and national origin, to apply for a Scholarship or Waiver, and that it has removed all links and references limiting eligibility by race and national origin from the University’s website. The University’s website now indicates that that students will be considered for the Scholarship if they meet criteria including being a “[m]ember of an underrepresented diverse group, which may include disability, indigenous status, ethnicity, race” and the application does not require the applicant to identify
their race or national origin. Likewise, the website also indicates that a Waiver may be granted “based on age, race/ethnicity, sex, disability, socioeconomic status, life experience, and other identifying characteristics” and the application does not require the applicant to identify their race or national origin. Rather, the application requires a personal statement describing the applicant’s “identifying characteristics or experiences that contribute to cultural diversity.”…

Based on this information, OCR is dismissing this complaint under Section 110(d) of the CPM because it has been resolved.