Once upon a time, college admissions departments focused on the recruitment of minorities in order to fulfill societal obligations. Today, the object at most institutions is simply to recruit as many students as possible in order to ensure economic survival.

While Affirmative Action has not disappeared, it is no longer considered a top priority at a majority of colleges and universities. Changing social and political attitudes, combined with increasing demands that higher education become more financially self-sufficient, have had an undeniable impact on the perceived need to increase minority enrollments.

As a prelude to any discussion involving Affirmative Action, it is important to remember that the United States has always been a segregated nation. With the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, however, it finally became illegal for states to receive federal funds if they engaged in (or condoned) practices which served to promote discrimination in any form. In 1972, the Adams decision declared that segregated colleges and universities had a special responsibility to develop and implement strategies aimed at enhancing African-American representation among students, faculty and staff.

By the mid-1970s, the United States was setting an example for the rest of the world with its resolve to become a truly multicultural republic. The 1978 Bakke decision replaced "quota" with "diversity" as colleges continued to expand their minority recruitment initiatives. As the decade drew to a close, Affirmative Action was one of the defining features of American higher education.

Consider this. In 1965, there were approximately 600,000 African-Americans enrolled in colleges and universities in this country. And most of these students (85% or so) were matriculated in historically black colleges (HBCs). By 1980, this number had grown to a million, with over 80 percent attending predominantly white institutions. (For the record, minority participation in higher education has never matched corresponding ratios within the total population).

Unfortunately, the strides toward equality made during the 1960s and 70s did not extend into the decades that followed. Despite an overall increase in both high school graduation rates and performance on standardized entrance exams, African-American as well as Hispanic enrollment at institutions of higher education fell by about 16 percent between 1979 and 1986. Although recent efforts to reverse this unhealthy trend have yielded tangible results, minority enrollments continue to be well below where they were eighteen years ago.

It is no secret that Affirmative Action has become somewhat controversial during the last few years. Some have even called for its complete abandonment. Regardless, most colleges and universities are still actively struggling to boost their minority enrollments even though less than half of these institutions see their efforts as being very successful.

The present quandary has its roots in a combination of factors. The enrollment increases precipitated by the baby boom generation began to subside during the 1980s. Unfortunately, this occurred at precisely the same time the Reagan Administration launched a fullscale assault on domestic spending. One of the most conspicuous casualties of that assault was student financial aid. Together, these events triggered tuition increases that consistently outpaced inflation.

The general shift from grants to loans as the principal source of student financial aid has also contributed to the changing attitudes toward Affirmative Action. With costs escalating exponentially, many families have found themselves unable to assume the enormous debt associated with obtaining a college degree. Moreover, since 85 percent of African-American students receive some form of financial aid, they tend to be disproportionately affected by any reduction in available funds.

Another reason for the decline in minority enrollments has been a failure by the public schools to adequately prepare students for the immense challenges of college life. Success in college is directly related to adequate preparation at the secondary level. The fact that many institutions continue to raise their admissions standards in a misguided attempt to enhance quality only exacerbates the problem for minorities.

Furthermore, admissions officers do not always provide minorities with an accurate picture of how receptive the academic community will be to their presence. Even if they are successful at getting in, minority students are typically not provided with the support structures and special programs they need in order to successfully negotiate the college environment. After being extensively recruited, African-American students often feel neglected once they actually arrive on campus. These considerations also help to explain the resurgence of racial incidents at many colleges and universities over the last few years.

In light of these and other realities, many minorities have come to question the necessity, and even the desirability, of continuing their formal education beyond high school. But the situation is not hopeless. There are a number of strategies that can help keep the spirit of Affirmative Action alive well into the next century.

First and foremost, colleges and universities need to rethink their admissions requirements. Particular attention should be focused on how standardized tests are employed in the decision-making process. Although African-Americans are scoring higher on college entrance exams, as a group they continue to score about a standard deviation below their white counterparts on tests such as the ACT and SAT. Despite minor fluctuations, this difference has remained relatively constant for the last two decades. In addition, only about one percent of the high school seniors who score 600 or above on the math portion of the SAT are African- American. Obviously, these instruments tend to adversely affect minorities more than non- minorities when used as a primary criterion for determining college eligibility.

So what becomes of minority applicants who do not score very high on these tests? Many simply decide not to go to college. Others enroll in less prestigious institutions by taking advantage of special scholarship programs or by managing to pay their own way. An increasing number choose to attend community colleges. Of those who go this route, however, only about 20 percent eventually transfer to four-year institutions, and only about 5 percent eventually earn a degree.

The bottom line is that overreliance on standardized test scores creates an artificial deficiency in the pool of 'qualified' minorities. It should come as no surprise that the top 100 schools easily absorb the vast majority of all African-Americans who do well on college entrance exams. Very few of these students enroll in the other 3000 or so less prestigious colleges and universities.

Once the top schools absorb the 'best' minority candidates, the remaining colleges and universities are forced to compete for those whose academic credentials are less than exemplary. The praiseworthy desire to enhance diversity often precipitates a deleterious pressure on institutions to find ways to admit minority applicants who do not meet established admissions requirements.

The consequences are often detrimental for both the student and the institution. If underprepared students are admitted and then not provided with appropriate remedial and other support services, odds are they will not succeed. When this is allowed to happen, the uninformed inevitably see all minority students as being less able than they really are, which only serves to reinforce the kind of stereotypical thinking that was more prevalent prior to the 1960s and 70s.

Obviously, part of the problem continues to be how quality has traditionally been defined in higher education. On the one hand, quality involves holding students to uniform standards and high expectations. On the other hand, it should give equal credence to individual differences. Test scores, for instance, have their appropriate uses. But quality also implies the ability to respond flexibly to the individual needs of a diverse population of students. It takes into account the particular strengths and weaknesses of individuals in relation to their specific educational and career aspirations--considerations that are often undervalued in the college admissions and matriculation processes.

There are no easy answers to the current imbroglio. Certainly more attention needs to be centered around issues related to enhancing diversity. But heightened awareness is only part of the answer. Admissions criteria that are more sensitive to the needs of all potential students must be developed and conscientiously implemented. Stronger leadership at all levels combined with a healthy dose of creative problem-solving are also warranted. In short, whatever resources are required must be willingly allocated to guarantee that access to higher education is not obstructed for any segment of society.

Finally, state governments working in consonance with their publically-supported institutions of higher learning must develop and implement innovative programs in which high school guidance counselors and college admissions professionals work in concert to promote minority student success. And once they arrive on campus, extreme care must be taken to keep them there. A firm commitment must be made to helping these students make the right personal choices and thus begin an educational journey that will last throughout their lives.

No, the ideals of Affirmative Action are not dead, but they are in desperate need of rejuvenation. Financial considerations must not be allowed to overshadow philosophical and moral imperatives. What is not needed is the classic late-Twentieth Century response to virtually every societal impediment--slick packaging infused with short-sighted solutions to problems with far-reaching consequences. The stakes are simply too high.