On February 14th, The United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to colleges and universities across the nation, including Century College.
This letter has been the source of unrest and worry for many faculty, staff, and students due to the huge changes concerning many aspects of student and faculty life implied to come based on its contents. To try and understand what the letter means, and what it means for Century specifically, we must first understand what a “Dear Colleague” letter is.
A “Dear Colleague” letter is “one of the primary communication types used to convey guidance regarding the Title IV federal student aid programs.” It is a mass communication sent out by the federal government to education institutions (and other bodies) that informs them of their interpretation of policy mainly regarding Title IX and now Title VI.
This letter specifically is an announcement of the sitting government’s reinterpretation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 based upon the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard United States Supreme Court case. This 2023 ruling outlawed affirmative action for most college admissions processes.
What exactly follows is legally difficult to understand, as well as ambiguous. The overarching message, however, is clear: Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs are declared illegal. The letter continues, stating that “treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice, or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent.”
The letter lists what colleges and universities are required to do to comply with the letter at the risk of losing their federal funding. “[Institutions must] (1) ensure that their policies and actions comply with existing civil rights law; (2) cease all efforts to circumvent prohibitions on the use of race by relying on proxies or other indirect means to accomplish such ends; and (3) cease all reliance on third-party contractors, clearinghouses, or aggregators that are being used by institutions in an effort to circumvent prohibited uses of race.”
What does this mean for Century College, Minnstate, and the nation as a whole?
The answer is unclear.
What the federal government specifically wants educational institutions to discontinue is not plainly and openly laid out. College and University administrators across the country fear that they will need to make changes at the risk of being fined or losing federal funding, which will universally harm students, faculty, and staff.
Whatever is to come, Century College and its students will push forward, according to administrators.
In a recent Student Senate meeting addressing the issue at hand, Century administrators provided a statement on their vision for our college: Century College is, and will continue to be, open and supportive of all students no matter their background, history, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, or identity.
