The Admissions “Crisis” at Princeton University 1963-1971

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The Admissions “Crisis” at Princeton University 1963-1971

Rude, Monica Katherine; (2021) The Admissions “Crisis” at Princeton University 1963-1971. Doctoral thesis (Ed.D), UCL (University College London). Green open access

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Abstract

This thesis examines the impacts of changes in American undergraduate admissions practices through a study of the Admission “Crisis” at Princeton University from 1963 to 1971. By examining this historically important case, I highlight the processes the university went through to admit both undergraduate women and minority students, along with some of the backlash relating to those changes. During this period, Princeton Admissions personnel worked to reform admissions practices both at the university and nationally. John Osander, the Director of Admissions at Princeton, wanted to help preserve the university’s elite status and genuinely believed in the benefits of diversity. He understood the institutional advantages that Princeton would gain from a more diverse student body and helped other university administrators understand that this change would strengthen Princeton. However, Osander struggled with change management and did not fully convince alumni that new admissions practices and procedures were important. As a result, a group of anti-change alumni banded together to try and discredit Osander’s work. In the end, the Admission Office began admitting both women and minority students in larger numbers. However, Osander’s vision for a Cooperative Project in College Admissions was not fully realized when he resigned from his job at Princeton in July of 1971. As he stepped down from his position tensions over the changes he had helped to create seemed to fade. While Osander left a career in admissions, the legacy of his work remained. The Cooperative Project limped along until 1975 when it reemerged as the Common Application. The enduring legacies of these events are a more diverse undergraduate population at Princeton and the establishment of the precursor to the modern Common Application.

Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Qualification:	Ed.D
Title:	The Admissions “Crisis” at Princeton University 1963-1971
Event:	UCL (University College London)
Open access status:	An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Language:	English
Additional information:	Copyright © The Author 2021. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request.
UCL classification:	UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Education, Practice and Society
URI:	https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10139964