“Last spring,” Arkansas Times reports,
the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville changed the name of its Office of Affirmative Action to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Compliance. The University said in a news release that the new name “better reflects the office’s roles and responsibilities.” Possibly true, but the change was timely in another way as well. University officials know there’s a good chance that “affirmative action” in higher education will soon be ended by court order.
The test, of course, is whether this change will be in name only.
Equal Opportunity in Ed World means equal outcomes and nondisproportional receipt of degrees. The Obama Administration has embraced the UNESCO Social Dimensions doctrine for Higher ed global reform. Different class backgrounds and ethnicities and races are to have no impact on who receives degrees. Since those categories can obscure real differences in life and capabilities with issues like 2nd language, single parents, non-college educated parents, college degree acquisition for all shifts away from the academic transmission of knowledge. Personal attributes, attitudes, values, and beliefs become an issue in degree acquisition.
Internationally it is called the Bolgna Process. No, there is not a salami process. Bologna the city and one of the oldest universities in Europe. In the US it is the Lumina Foundation pushing this, but this Administration expressly adopted their approach in a January report.
Basically until there is no difference in economic class among students, it is deemed inequitable to push academics. Very useful if you have political manipulation of the masses in mind. Much easier if they remain ignorant and primed to respond from emotion.
Literally you can only have equal opportunity in a socialist, Line of Plenty and no more unless you are connected politically, America. Thus that is one of those terms we need to be careful about endorsing because we are using the Webster’s dictionary definition. Always a bad idea in Ed World.