Race is weighed more heavily in undergraduate admissions at the University this year than it was under the point-based affirmative action policy overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003, according to a study released Tuesday.

University officials have dismissed the findings. University spokeswoman Julie Peterson questioned the validity and timing of the study, calling it "flawed and shallow."

The study, conducted by the conservative think tank, Center for Equal Opportunity, looked at the standardized test scores and grade-point averages of University applicants from 1999, 2003, 2004 and 2005.

The Virginia-based center found that the University gave more weight to an applicant's race in 2005 than was given in 1999, one of the years considered by the Supreme Court in Gratz v. Bollinger.

The 2003 Supreme Court decision overturned the University's policy of awarding extra points to underrepresented minorities because it was "not narrowly tailored," according to Chief Justice William Rehnquist's ruling. But the court upheld considering an applicant's race as part of an effort to achieve a diverse student body. The study claims that a black male with the median GPA and test scores for all admitted blacks had a 28-percent chance of being accepted to the University in 1999. This chance increased to 43 percent in 2005.

A white applicant with the same test scores and GPA had a 1-percent chance both years.

In a written statement, Peterson said the study relied on flawed analysis that statistical experts have rejected as unsound and misleading. She also pointed out that the study missed crucial pieces of information considered in the University's admissions process, like extracurricular activities and application essays.

"No top university admits students solely on the basis of grades and test scores," she said.

Roger Clegg, a spokesman for the Center for Equal Opportunity, defended the study's methodology, saying it did not make sense to consider subjective variables like application essays and letters of recommendation.

Even if the center could control for essay quality, Clegg said, it is not possible that the gaps in SAT scores and GPA between black and white admitted students could be explained by differences in application essays.

"There is no reason to think that African Americans are better at writing essays than whites," Clegg said.

The Center for Equal Opportunity was founded in 1995 by Linda Chavez, who was appointed by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The center is dedicated to eliminating race-based affirmative action and campaigning against bilingual education.

The study's release comes less than three weeks before Michigan voters will vote on Proposal 2, which seeks to ban the use of race and gender in admissions and government hiring and contracting. The University's admissions policies have often been a rallying point for opponents of racial preferences.

Peterson questioned the timing and motives of the release.

"This is a politicized attempt by (the Center for Equal Opportunity) to narrow the focus of the debate to college admissions at a single institution, rather than acknowledging the broader potential impact on state employment and contracting, K-12 schools and public universities and community colleges," Peterson said.

While the Center for Equal Opportunity is dedicated to ending race-based affirmative action programs and is openly supportive of Proposal 2, Clegg denied that the center coordinated its efforts with the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative campaign.

Admission rates the right to

64 - 1999 black rate
71 - 2005 black rate
76 - 1999 Hispanic rate
79 - 2005 Hispanic rate

Source: Center for Equal Opportunity