'We were admitting students who didn't belong there'

A university traditionally seen as being in the vanguard of change dropped affirmative action five years ago. The University of California (UC) decided to stop admitting African Americans and native Americans on lower grades than whites after a campaign by a black businessman from Sacramento, Ward Connerly, who sat on the university's governing body.

A university traditionally seen as being in the vanguard of change dropped affirmative action five years ago. The University of California (UC) decided to stop admitting African Americans and native Americans on lower grades than whites after a campaign by a black businessman from Sacramento, Ward Connerly, who sat on the university's governing body.

"We were sacrificing quality," Mr Connerly says. "We were admitting students to Berkeley (UC's flagship campus) who didn't belong there. It wasn't fair to the other students denied admission who had better grades. It was immoral for a nation that prides itself on equality and fairness to be doing this."

Under the affirmative action programme, blacks and American Indians were given extra points to compensate for the disadvantage suffered by their racial groups in the past. This meant that a poor grade point average in school or a poor SAT score (the equivalent of A-levels) could be compensated for by points gained for the colour of skin.

When that system was abolished at UC, the number of black students entering Berkeley plummeted by as much as 70 per cent, said Mr Connerly. Instead, the two ethnic groups that had been given special favours began going in greater numbers to some of the university's less prestigious campuses.

Other states have been following suit. Washington state has abolished affirmative action, as has Florida. In the southern states of Louisiana, Georgia and Texas the courts have been striking affirmative action down.

Mr Connerly argues, however, that a candidate's potential should be broadly defined. It is reasonable for a university to take factors other than grades into account when defining merit, he says. And it is legitimate for admissions tutors to consider the educational environment in which students have been nurtured.

"But you have to be very careful that you don't compromise academic quality," he says. "Places like Berkeley and the University of London should never sacrifice quality. If they do, they won't be able to replace it quickly."