Office for Civil Rights letter on Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard
February 16, 2025 1:32 PM

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,

We write to share an update on developments from the federal government. The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has released a “Dear Colleague Letter” informing universities that the new administration will interpret the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard to apply more broadly than undergraduate admissions processes. While we expect additional guidance may be forthcoming, the Department also stated it would begin assessing compliance with its stated interpretation within the next two weeks.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign remains committed to pursuing strategies and initiatives within the law and in consultation with our peers throughout the Association of American Universities (AAU), the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and other national organizations that value diverse perspectives, ideas and lived experiences and adhere to our commitment as a land grant university to expand access, opportunity and academic excellence. These values, we know, are critical to the transformative educational experiences and research impact that positively transform the lives of everyone in our state, our nation and the world. As we strive to create a campus where faculty, staff and students from all backgrounds feel welcome, we will review the Dear Colleague Letter to ensure the university’s policies and practices continue to be consistent both with the law and with the cornerstone values of our university. We will continue to share our concerns and perspectives on federal actions with elected officials and others in the policy making process and to work in unison with our higher education partners around the country in response to proposed changes in federal law and policy.

Recent executive orders, federal agency directives and policy announcements have been unsettling to many in our campus community. We thank you for your kindness to each other and for your dedication to our mission as we navigate these times. Please remember that you can view the latest campus information on federal updates at federalupdates.illinois.edu and that you can submit your questions and comments to federalupdates@illinois.edu.

Sincerely,

Robert J. Jones
 Chancellor

John Coleman
 Provost