Civil rights agency shelves college bias probe

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has shelved a yearlong investigation into possible gender discrimination in college admissions.

The commission voted 4-3 to suspend the probe because of disagreements over the quality and quantity of data subpoenaed from 19 colleges.

The probe began in December 2009 based on news accounts and anecdotal evidence that colleges discriminated against women to promote a better gender mix. Women outnumber men nearly 60 to 40 percent in higher education nationally.

Minutes from the commission’s meeting March 11 indicate members also disagreed about the data’s implications for the nation as a whole. The group could only subpoena data from colleges within 100 miles of Washington, D.C.

Data was sought from institutions in Maryland; Pennsylvania; Washington, D.C.; Virginia; Delaware; and West Virginia.