Diversity screening limiting applicants at UC I was one of two kids in my freshman calculus class that didn't take pre-calculus/calculus in HS. Dr. Kouba invited me in to the Emerging Scholars Program the summer before I moved to Davis (no longer exists, and I don't know how/why he found me). I walked in to that class (21A) very unprepared and I think I got a C that first quarter. I'd never seen a derivative before day 1. With a lot of help, I had an A- by the 3rd quarter of 21 series math. Should I not have been in that class? Sure I had A's in math in HS. But almost all of the kids in that class had taken an extra year of math, and many of them were valedictorians at more well-known schools.
Again, you keep saying these kids aren't prepared, or that these kids don't have good grades or can't read at grade level.
1) This discussion is about a pilot program for hiring faculty.
2) Nobody has bothered to check if the program was actually implemented.
3) As far as kids getting accepted, if all applicants meet the minimum requirements, then either the academic requirements need to change, or additional factors need to be considered.
My feeling is that kids with very good grades and maybe only 1 or 2 AP classes shouldn't be passed up because some private school kid with tutors and 10 AP classes has a better academic resume. As far as SAT scores go, again, that kid that takes a few prep courses, and can afford to take the test a few times is going to do better. That does not make them a better student, or human being. Just like how Hawkins repeatedly says that his program isn't all about football, you have to consider the whole person, and how they will contribute to the good of the whole. Additionally, you have to look at someone's potential. If one kid's scores and grades aren't as great as another kids, but they have a single parent who works 12-hour days, takes a bus 2 hours to school each way, making dinner for siblings, you name it, does that mean they don't have the same potential? If anything, if you remove the additional load off of that kid's shoulders, and allow them to focus 100% on just school, I think that kid will excel, be grateful for the opportunity, and do more to give back as an adult. Just my 2 cents.