Responsibilities of Rackham Graduate Admissions Committees

While serving on graduate admissions committees, graduate faculty are obligated to understand and comply with relevant federal and state laws and university policies, as you seek to admit graduate students who contribute to both the excellence and diversity of your graduate programs.

Indeed, graduate programs may continue to encourage applications from individuals representing a broad variety of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences (geographic, economic, etc.). Similarly, graduate programs may also continue to evaluate applicants for admission based on criteria related to cultural competence, grit, resilience, and the like, provided that each criterion is clearly defined in advance and in writing, has a defensible connection to the academic program or profession, and is applied equitably to all applicants. In addition, evaluation must be based on applicants’ engagement, experience, or activity, and not beliefs or commitments. Moreover, graduate programs should be aware that using such criteria may be harder to defend if the data suggest that such use has skewed the demographic composition of the program’s admitted class. 

Moreover, it is important to recall that in 2006, Michigan’s Proposal 2 was adopted by the state’s voters. This constitutional amendment prohibits public colleges and universities in Michigan from discriminating against or giving preferential treatment to groups or individuals based on their race, gender, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public education, public employment, or public contracting. In addition, as of March 2025, university policy precludes the requirement or use of diversity statements in the admissions process (among other areas).

The Office of the Vice President & General Counsel (OGC) continues to regularly update its guidance regarding legal compliance in the context of graduate admissions. In particular, OGC continues to emphasize that under the law, as a member of a graduate admissions committee, you cannot admit students or provide financial aid, in whole or in part, on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, height, weight, or veteran status. That being said, graduate admissions committees can continue to consider–in the manner described above–a broad range of relevant, non-identity-based factors of a student’s background, perspectives, and experiences in performing holistic review and making admissions decisions.

Additionally, beginning Fall 2026, the graduate school made revisions to the Rackham Core Admissions Application, implemented changes to the admissions application output received by graduate programs each cycle, and revised some Rackham Merit Fellowship (RMF) eligibility language, in order to comply with “The University of Michigan’s Commitment to Equal Opportunity for All”, issued by University leadership. 

Beyond resources offered by Rackham, the graduate school also recommends that you consider taking advantage of other campus resources, such as the U-M Human Resources “Unconscious Bias in Recruiting and Hiring” course; ADVANCE STRIDE online resources; and, Equity, Civil Rights & Title IX (ECRT). Better understanding unconscious bias will help mitigate its potential impact on graduate admissions decisions.

While serving on graduate admissions committees, you will have access to confidential admissions files that contain sensitive information about prospective students, including grades, academic records, and other characteristics. Although the files will not include that applicant’s responses to the two race/ethnicity questions, they may still include other information about prospective students’ race or ethnicity, or about gender, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, etc. It is imperative to maintain ethical and professional standards when reviewing applications, including safeguarding student privacy. You should refrain from disclosing the contents of application files outside the graduate admissions committee. In addition, personal information about the application–including with respect to protected identity characteristics such as those noted above–is irrelevant to the criteria for admission and should not be included in either the admissions committee discussions or in the documentation of the committee meetings. 

Your actions on a graduate admissions committee are governed by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records, including graduate admissions. Please be reminded that admitted students have a right of access to their records, including admissions files. Rackham recommends that you complete the university’s online FERPA training course. U-M Information and Technology Services (ITS) has also developed asafe computing guide for how to protect sensitive student data.

Holistic admissions practices provide a more comprehensive understanding of a prospective graduate student’s potential for successful degree completion by considering a wider range of factors assessing an applicant’s unique experiences, and evaluating traditional measures of academic readiness within their broader context. These practices provide useful tools for making fine distinctions among large numbers of highly qualified applicants, assessing all information presented in an application in a way that complies with federal and state law and university policy, while mitigating potential unconscious bias.

Rackham recommends that graduate faculty serving on graduate admissions committees participate in the Faculty Workshop on Holistic Graduate Admissions for Excellence and Diversity offered each year by the graduate school to support faculty in their efforts to admit graduate students who contribute to the excellence and broad diversity of their programs. 

This year’s workshops will be offered on:

• October 14, 9:30 to 11:00 a.m., Pierpont Commons, North Campus
• October 23, 3:00 to 4:30 p.m., Rackham Building, 4th Floor

Rackham appreciates that graduate programs may have interest in exploring the use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools at different stages of the graduate admissions process. As the potential impacts of these technologies on the evaluation of applications remain largely untested, Rackham recommends care and caution before incorporating any GenAI tools in graduate admissions, including the use of external AI resources, which could risk non-compliance with FERPA. These developments are rapidly evolving; Rackham will continue to organize discussions to explore the use of GenAI in graduate admissions.