I'm not sure how this is going to end up, but the fact that plaintiffs suing elite US college over collusion and favoritism in admissions will get access to data from their admissions department, including deposing senior executives.
Pass the popcorn:
A Chicago federal judge has handed a key victory to students suing a group of elite U.S. universities and colleges over their financial aid practices, saying they can question school officials and search for records about whether "wealth favoritism" played into admission considerations.
In his ruling on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly rejected a bid from six schools — Brown University, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Northwestern University, University of Notre Dame and Yale University — for an order barring the plaintiffs from accessing admission and development records, including details about donations.
Brown and the other five schools must also allow senior university officials to sit for depositions on those matters, according to the court's ruling.
The prospective class action filed last year against 17 schools alleged a price-fixing conspiracy in which schools restricted financial aid, causing a class of potentially more than 200,000 students to over-pay for tuition by tens of millions of dollars. The lawsuit survived an early bid by the schools to dismiss it.
This is only allowing discovery, but the fact that these students get to turn over rocks is heartening.
Attorneys for the student plaintiffs are seeking among other records "documents and communications concerning the consideration of donor or legacy status in admissions," including details about donations totaling more than $50,000.
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The plaintiffs' lawyers said evidence of donation records linked to the admissions process would undermine the schools' claims that a would-be student's potential for financial aid was not weighed.
The interesting thing here is that there is an exemption for colleges from antitrust regulation under Section 568 of the Higher Education Act, but that requires that,, "All students admitted are admitted on a need-blind basis," and the selling of admissions for donations by colleges, the kind of bribery that was NOT a part of the Varsity Blues Scandal, and is still considered to be completely legal, would seem to put the lie to the, "All students admitted," part.
I hope that the plaintiffs win. One of the reasons for skyrocketing college tuition and fees is the collusion that has been business as usual at high status schools. Ending this would be a very good thing.™
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