College applications in UK to become anonymous

Candidates' names will be removed from university application forms from 2017, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.

The move is part of a plan to prevent unconscious bias against candidates from minority groups, said Mr Cameron, writing in the Guardian newspaper.

Other measures against discrimination include a pledge by leading graduate employers to name-blind recruitment, the Prime Minister has announced.

The admissions body UCAS said it was keen to boost minority student numbers.

The prime minister set out the measures at a Downing Street round table on Monday.

Further Reading: http://www.bbc.com/news/education-34616420

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5 replies	Author	Time	Post
College applications in UK to become anonymous (Original post)	jkbRN	Oct 2015	OP
Sounds like an excellent idea. The US should do the same (nt)	Nye Bevan	Oct 2015	#1
Totally agree	jkbRN	Oct 2015	#3
This is a seriously awesome idea. My only concern is that	Lyric	Oct 2015	#2
You make a great point!	jkbRN	Oct 2015	#4
They're doing this	Dorian Gray	Oct 2015	#5

Response to jkbRN (Original post)

Mon Oct 26, 2015, 09:54 PM

Nye Bevan (25,406 posts)

1. Sounds like an excellent idea. The US should do the same (nt)

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Response to Nye Bevan (Reply #1)

Mon Oct 26, 2015, 11:40 PM

jkbRN (850 posts)

3. Totally agree

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Response to jkbRN (Original post)

Mon Oct 26, 2015, 11:39 PM

Lyric (12,675 posts)

2. This is a seriously awesome idea. My only concern is that

I'm not sure how to implement Affirmative Action policies if the applications are totally anonymous. Maybe there can be a checkbox indicating that the applicant is a member of a minority group (racial, ethnic, LGBT, etc.) without indicating any details about which minority group the applicant belongs to. That way minorities still get the extra points that they well deserve, while removing specific biases.

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Response to Lyric (Reply #2)

Mon Oct 26, 2015, 11:40 PM

jkbRN (850 posts)

4. You make a great point!

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Response to Lyric (Reply #2)

Tue Oct 27, 2015, 07:19 AM

Dorian Gray (12,225 posts)

5. They're doing this

to prevent gender bias. I don't know what kind of affirmative action laws the UK has on the books, but, apparently, there wasn't enough diversity in the universities. This is to battle that.

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