Opinion ID: 11931
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Scholarship Policies

Text: While the district court found that undergraduate admissions policies in general are vestiges of de jure segregation that continue to have segregative effects, it found that scholarship policies in particular are not. On remand, plaintiffs challenged the use of ACT cutoff scores for the award of undergraduate academic scholarships at the HWIs, as well as the use of ACT cutoff scores and alumni connection in the award of nonresident fee waivers for out-of-state admittees.43 Unlike most other 43 The nonresident fee waivers for children of nonresident alumni are referred to in the record also as “alumni scholarships.” Our use of the term “scholarships” encompasses academic scholarships as well as nonresident fee waivers, but we use the term “nonresident fee waiver” when referring solely to this type of award. We note that Mississippi University for Women offers certain scholarships to resident and nonresident children of MUW alumni that require a minimum ACT score of 21 for eligibility. These scholarships are distinct from the nonresident fee waivers, but plaintiffs challenge the use of the ACT cutoff score and the alumni connection in determining eligibility for these scholarships as well. 39 forms of financial aid, the scholarships challenged by plaintiffs are generally awarded on the basis of academic achievement, not financial need, and do not require repayment by the recipient. The district court found a significant disparity in the percentage of nonresident fee waivers awarded by race in any given year. Id. at 1433. The evidence indicated similar disparities in the award of academic scholarships. The district court concluded, however, that [t]he Board’s policy of allowing [nonresident fee waivers] to be based on ACT cutoffs and the use of ACT cutoff scores as the sole criterion for the receipt of academic scholarship monies has not been proven to have linkage with the de jure system, and there is no evidence that these practices currently foster separation of the races such as influencing student choice. Therefore, reformation of these policies cannot be ordered consistent with the law of the case, absent evidence of discriminatory purpose of which the court finds none. The use of ACT scores in awarding scholarships is widespread throughout the United States and generally viewed as educationally sound. Id. at 1434-35 (footnote omitted). The district court did not make a specific finding with regard to the traceability of the alumni connection requirement for nonresident fee waivers. The remedial decree does not order alteration of any of the challenged scholarship policies.
Plaintiffs argue that the district court clearly erred in finding that the use of ACT cutoffs in the award of academic scholarships and nonresident fee waivers at the HWIs is not traceable to the dual system and does not have segregative effects. Although the district court’s findings and conclusions 40 with respect to academic scholarships focus specifically on policies that establish an ACT cutoff score as the sole criterion for award, plaintiffs’ challenge encompasses all instances in which the HWIs require a minimum ACT score for scholarship eligibility.44 Accordingly, plaintiffs have identified on appeal numerous scholarships at various HWIs that are available only to students with certain minimum ACT scores. Plaintiffs contend that the use of ACT cutoff scores for scholarship eligibility is traceable to the de jure system because under that system ACT cutoff scores were implemented for the purpose of excluding black students from the HWIs. The segregative effects of this practice, plaintiffs argue, are evident in the racial disparity in scholarship awards. Because black students receive only a very small proportion of such scholarships, yet are more likely than white students to be in need of financial aid, the policy effectively reduces the number of black students able to attend the HWIs. Moreover, plaintiffs argue that the record does not 44 In the Pretrial Order, private plaintiffs listed as a challenged remnant “[t]he policy of using ACT cutoff scores in selecting persons to receive particular scholarships at the undergraduate level at each HWI.” The United States similarly identified this alleged remnant as “[t]he practice of using the ACT in selecting persons to receive scholarships at the undergraduate level.” Significantly, plaintiffs do not challenge any of the scholarship policies at the HBIs and no party argues on appeal that such policies either are traceable to the de jure system or have present segregative effects. Accordingly, we express no opinion on the scholarship policies at the HBIs or their relevance in reforming scholarship policies to eliminate present segregative effects. In fashioning the most appropriate remedy, however, the district court may find it relevant to consider all scholarship policies. 41 support the district court’s finding that the use of ACT cutoff scores in the award of scholarships is widespread. Plaintiffs also contend that the district court erred in upholding the practice of limiting nonresident fee waivers to children of an institution’s alumni. Plaintiffs maintain that the alumni connection requirement is traceable to the de jure system in that parents of today’s students were systematically excluded from the HWIs under the de jure system.
Although it is clear from the record that undergraduate scholarship policies were litigated on remand, the district court made virtually no fact findings with regard to specific policy criteria or operation. The parties’ original briefing of this issue on appeal was also scant.45 In response to our request for supplemental briefing, plaintiffs provided a summary of the challenged policies along with the racial breakdown of their distribution for the 1992-93 year (and in one instance, for the 1991-92 year). Defendants have not contested the accuracy of this summary, which is drawn from defendants’ answers to interrogatories and from other evidence introduced by defendants. We therefore accept plaintiffs’ factual summary. According to that summary, the scholarships alleged to be traceable to de jure segregation and to have present discriminatory effects are as 45 To ensure that we were apprised of all arguments and relevant evidence on appeal, we requested, and the parties supplied, supplemental briefing on the issue of undergraduate scholarships. 42 follows: DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY First-time freshman enrollment 1992-93: 21% black Scholarship Minimum Number of Recipients Dollars Received Name46 ACT Score Black White Total Black White Total Dean’s and 26 2 160 162 $1,375 $131,175 $132,550 Presidential 1% black 1% black MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY First-time freshman enrollment 1992-93: 16% black Scholarship Minimum Number of Recipients Dollars Received Name ACT Score Black White Total Black White Total Entering 31 1 294 299 $2,000 $546,000 $555,000 Freshman ACT 8,000 Sharp Forestry 31 0 3 3 0 7,500 7,500 Entering 29 5 454 468 16,250 596,836 626,836 Freshman ACT 5,000 and Schillig Ramsey & 28 0 41 41 0 115,500 115,500 Elaine O’Neal and Hearin- Hess Entering 28 5 248 267 7,944 239,444 261,388 Freshmen ACT 4,000, South Central Bell, and Jesse & Lillian Tims Leadership 20 8 71 80 3,600 34,450 38,550 John C. 24 1 6 8 1,000 6,000 8,000 Stennis Alumni 21 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A TOTAL 20 1117 1166 $30,794 $1,545,730 $1,612,774 2% black 2% black MISSISSIPPI UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN 46 Plaintiffs advise in their brief that in some instances data for more than one scholarship with the same ACT cutoff score has been grouped. This reflects the way defendants provided scholarship data in response to interrogatories. 43 First-time freshman enrollment 1992-93: 21% black Scholarship Minimum Number of Recipients Dollars Received Name ACT Score Black White Total Black White Total Centennial and 28 0 26 26 $0 $142,464 $142,464 Eudora Welty Regional 21 2 68 70 1,200 74,400 75,600 Alumni 21 2 50 52 600 32,540 33,140 Academic 21 10 208 218 3,402 111,500 114,902 Valedictorian 21 0 6 6 0 7,075 7,075 Salutatorian 21 0 6 6 0 4,125 4,125 TOTAL 14 364 378 $5,202 $372,104 $377,306 4% black 1% black First-time freshman enrollment 1991-92: N/A Scholarship Minimum Number of Recipients Dollars Received Name ACT Score Black White Total Black White Total Special 21 34 154 188 $40,820 $139,163 $179,983 Conditions Academic 25 0 79 79 0 130,425 130,425 TOTAL 34 233 267 $40,820 $269,588 $310,408 13% black 13% black UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI First-time freshman enrollment 1992-93: 7% black Scholarship Minimum Number of Recipients Dollars Received Name ACT Score Black White Total Black White Total Children of 21 1 305 307 $1,960 $529,512 $533,432 Nonresident Alumni Children of 18 10 106 118 14,092 88,540 104,196 Faculty & Staff Post- 1977 Children of 19 10 104 116 19,780 195,263 215,783 Faculty & Staff Pre- 1977-78 Academic 28 6 683 701 14,130 1,608,555 1,641,805 Academic 30 2 27 29 9,500 105,000 114,500 Academic 22 9 240 253 11,350 244,467 258,642 Special 22 6 130 140 6,810 211,550 224,240 Conditions 44 TOTAL 44 1595 1664 $77,622 $2,982,887 $3,092,598 3% black 3% black UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI First-time freshman enrollment 1992-93: 27% black Scholarship Minimum Number of Recipients Dollars Received Name ACT Score Black White Total Black White Total Presidential, 29 0 36 36 $0 $194,043 $194,043 Schillig- Baird, Pulley, Pulley, and Gough Academic 28 7 352 371 8,375 773,490 816,860 Excellence Regional 25 0 43 47 0 72,914 79,774 Alumni 21 1 143 146 1,960 230,333 236,213 TOTAL 8 574 600 $10,335 $1,270,780 $1,326,890 1% black 1% black The district court found that basing scholarship eligibility on ACT cutoff scores is not traceable to the dual system and does not have current segregative effects. We agree with the principle articulated by the district court that use of an ACT cutoff is not unlawful in all circumstances. “Rather, its particular use in any circumstance must be examined to consider whether as a component of the policy challenged, the same is traceable to prior de jure segregation.” Ayers II, 879 F. Supp. at 1434. In light of the facts set out above, however, we conclude that the district court erred in arriving at its findings regarding traceability and segregative effects.47 The district court may have applied an erroneous view of 47 Our conclusion in this regard applies to the use of ACT cutoffs in all challenged scholarships. 45 traceability. As defendants point out in their supplemental letter brief, a traceable policy is one “rooted in” the prior dual system. See Fordice, 505 U.S. at 730 n.4, 732 n.6, 743. It is only “surviving aspects” of de jure segregation that a state need remedy. See id. at 733. That is not to say, however, that a challenged policy as it exists today must have been in effect during the de jure period in order to be constitutionally problematic. The undergraduate admissions criteria that the district court found to be traceable, for instance, had been modified several times since the de jure era but nonetheless were found to be rooted in the prior system. Similarly, the Supreme Court found Mississippi’s scheme of institutional mission classifications to be traceable to de jure segregation even though it was not put in place until several years after termination of official segregation. See id. at 732-33, 739-41. The Court noted that “[t]he institutional mission designations adopted in 1981 have as their antecedents the policies enacted to perpetuate racial separation during the de jure segregated regime.” Id. at 739. In United States v. Louisiana, this court implicitly recognized that Louisiana’s open admissions policy could be traceable to that state’s prior de jure system despite its adoption only after de jure segregation had ended. See 9 F.3d at 1167. Because the district court had not addressed the policy’s traceability, we left the issue open for resolution on remand. Id. In this case, plaintiffs concede that the record does not 46 contain evidence directly linking the use of ACT cutoffs for scholarship purposes with any time prior to 1980. Such evidence apparently was not developed because plaintiffs concluded, in our view correctly, that the discriminatory use of ACT cutoffs to exclude black students from the HWIs during the de jure period establishes traceability with respect to all current practices that limit black student access to the HWIs by setting ACT cutoff scores at a level that disproportionately favors white students. Defendants contend that plaintiffs have failed to prove traceability because they have not produced evidence establishing that the practice of using ACT cutoffs in the award of scholarships was initiated either “(i) during de jure segregation, (ii) as an integral component of de jure segregation, (iii) to continue, perpetuate, or further segregation, or (iv) because of some intentionally segregative policy which formerly existed.”48 This argument misses the mark. First, to the extent defendants suggest it is lacking, evidence of discriminatory purpose is required to establish a constitutional violation only for present policies that are not traceable to the prior system; discriminatory purpose is not an element of traceability itself. Fordice, 505 U.S. at 733 n.8. Second, this argument ignores the relationship between scholarship awards and grants of admission, an element missing 48 Upon motion of plaintiffs, the district court placed the burden of proving traceability on plaintiffs. No party appeals the allocation of burdens of proof. For purposes of this appeal, we assume without deciding that the district court did not err in this respect. 47 from the district court’s analysis as well. Scholarship decisions are not wholly independent of admissions in the way that most financial aid determinations are. Indeed, the record indicates that at University of Mississippi, Delta State University, and Mississippi University for Women, the application for admission also constitutes the application for scholarships. It is because scholarships are intended to reward exemplary academic achievement, as defendants point out, that scholarship decision criteria overlap more with those for admission than for financial aid. By their nature, scholarships are designed to attract outstanding students to the awarding institution; that scholarships need not be repaid is a powerful incentive for students to both pursue and accept them. As a component of admissions, scholarship policies further the process that ultimately culminates in matriculation. In finding that the use of ACT cutoffs in the scholarship context is not traceable to the de jure system, the district court may have distinguished scholarships too strictly from admissions, although its opinion, which addresses scholarships as a component of admissions, suggests otherwise. See Ayers II, 879 F. Supp. at 1424, 1431-35. As presented by plaintiffs, the challenged scholarships require students to achieve a certain minimum ACT score to be eligible for the award. Accordingly, a student who has not achieved the requisite ACT score will not be considered, regardless of how impressive his or her grades or other academic achievements might be. This is “constitutionally problematic” 48 for the same reason the Supreme Court found the use of the ACT in admissions to be so. See Fordice, 505 U.S. at 736 (“Another constitutionally problematic aspect of the State’s use of the ACT test scores is its policy of denying automatic admission if an applicant fails to earn the minimum ACT score specified for the particular institution, without also resorting to the applicant’s high school grades as an additional factor in predicting college performance.”). Just as there may be students who could do college level work yet might be precluded from enrolling in an institution that maintains ACT cutoffs in admissions, there may be students who have outstanding academic achievement that merits recognition apart from their ACT scores. It bears emphasis that the use of ACT cutoffs in the award of scholarships raises constitutional suspicion only because of the history of de jure segregation in Mississippi. The practice of rewarding academic achievement as determined by standardized test scores, even where it results in significant racial disparities in receipt of awards, is not per se unconstitutional. Use of ACT cutoffs does not take place on a clean slate in Mississippi, however. The alleged practice of basing scholarship eligibility on minimum ACT scores flows from earlier discriminatory use of ACT cutoffs and therefore triggers further constitutional inquiry, under Fordice, into whether it continues to have segregative effects. The use of ACT cutoff scores in the award of scholarships restricts black students’ access to the HWIs in much the same way 49 that the use of ACT cutoff scores in a system of differential admissions standards was found to restrict access. The district court findings and other evidence indicate that scholarships with ACT cutoff scores are disproportionately awarded to white students. See Ayers II, 879 F. Supp. at 1433. In addition, the district court found that black applicants to Mississippi’s universities are more likely to need financial aid than white applicants. Id. at 1433-34 n.28. To the extent that academically accomplished black students are unable to achieve ACT scores that would qualify them for scholarships at the HWIs, they are discouraged from both applying to and matriculating at these institutions.49 While the potential segregative effect of the use of ACT cutoffs in determining scholarship eligibility is perhaps somewhat less pronounced than that of the use of ACT cutoffs in admissions, the evidence nevertheless indicates that such potential does exist. The fact that some HWIs offer scholarships specifically for black applicants does not, as the State argues, alter this conclusion. The evidence suggests that such scholarships represent an extremely limited proportion of available scholarship monies, and in most instances fall significantly short of the amount of aid offered through generally available scholarships. The availability of a small number of minority scholarships at the HWIs does not automatically neutralize the 49 The district court found that black students continue to be significantly underrepresented at most of the HWIs. Ayers II, 879 F. Supp. at 1469. 50 ongoing discriminatory effects of current scholarship policies rooted in the de jure past. There is evidence in the record to indicate that the use of ACT cutoffs in the award of scholarships can be practicably eliminated consistent with sound educational practices. Of course, as we noted with respect to undergraduate admissions policies, we do not hold that reliance on ACT scores for scholarship purposes must be eradicated entirely. We leave to the district court on remand factfinding with regard to the practicability of reforming current policies consistent with sound educational practices. Plaintiffs also argue that the district court erred in failing to find that basing eligibility for nonresident fee waivers (and, in the case of Mississippi University for Women, certain scholarships for children of resident and nonresident alumni) on relationship to alumni of Mississippi’s HWIs is traceable to the de jure system and has present segregative effects. We agree that this practice, which the district court found to result in the disproportionate award of such scholarships to white students, has present segregative effects. We are not persuaded, however, that traceability has been established on this record.50 Plaintiffs’ argument rests upon the exclusion of blacks from the HWIs during the de jure period. 50 Our conclusion in this regard applies to the alumni connection requirement in the challenged scholarships offered by Mississippi University for Women as well as that in the nonresident fee waivers. 51 This fact, without more, does not establish the traceability of the alumni element of the present nonresident fee waivers. In effect, plaintiffs seek relief for “present discriminatory effects without addressing whether such consequences flow from policies rooted in the prior system.” Fordice, 505 U.S. at 730 n.4. The Supreme Court has rejected this position. Id. Plaintiffs note in their briefs that this court struck down, as unlawfully discriminating against black applicants to Mississippi universities, a requirement established by the Board shortly after the decision in Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), that each applicant for admission furnish letters or certificates from alumni attesting to the good moral character of the applicant. See Meredith v. Fair, 305 F.2d 343, 351 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 371 U.S. 828 (1962). In our view (assuming that plaintiffs intend this as an alternative basis for traceability), on this record the alumni certificate requirement for admission has no connection, historical or otherwise, with the nonresident fee waivers presently awarded to the children of nonresident alumni except for the fact that both involve some “alumni connection.” Any such argument urges us to a level of generality that is beyond the traceability contemplated by Fordice.
We reverse the district court’s finding that the use of ACT cutoff scores as a criterion for the award of scholarships at the HWIs is not traceable to the de jure system and does not 52 currently foster segregation. We remand for determination of the practicability and educational soundness of reforming this aspect of the undergraduate scholarship policies at the HWIs and the implementation, if necessary, of appropriate remedial relief. B. Enhancement of Historically Black Institutions 1. Background Facts Plaintiffs contend that several policies related to funding and programs at the HBIs are remnants of the de jure system that must be remedied by relief more expansive than that ordered by the district court. Plaintiffs’ arguments in this regard encompass four interrelated areas: new academic programs, land grant programs, program duplication, and funding. According to plaintiffs, these aspects of higher education affect student choice, and existing policies must be remedied in order to enable the HBIs to attract students of all races.51 In addition, private plaintiffs appear to advocate enhancement of the HBIs in order to rectify the detrimental effects of past de jure segregation, without regard to present policies and practices. This position is at odds with standards established in Fordice. The Supreme Court expressly rejected the proposition that the State’s duty to dismantle its prior de jure system requires elimination of all continuing discriminatory 51 The district court found that “[b]lacks are now attending the HWIs as a group in statistical parity with their representation in the qualified pool.” Ayers II, 879 F. Supp. at 1486. 53 effects: “To the extent we understand private petitioners to urge us to focus on present discriminatory effects without addressing whether such consequences flow from policies rooted in the prior system, we reject this position.” Fordice, 505 U.S. at 730 n.4. Likewise, [i]f we understand private petitioners to press us to order the upgrading of Jackson State, Alcorn State, and Mississippi Valley State solely so that they may be publicly financed, exclusively black enclaves by private choice, we reject that request. The State provides these facilities for all its citizens and it has not met its burden under Brown to take affirmative steps to dismantle its prior de jure system when it perpetuates a separate, but ‘more equal’ one. Id. at 743. The appropriate inquiry under Fordice, then, is whether changes in resource allocation are necessary to dismantle fully present policies and practices rooted in the prior system that serve to maintain the racial identifiability of the universities and that can practicably be eliminated without eroding sound educational policies. See id. Current policies and practices (as distinguished from lingering disparities in institutional development per se) implicate the Fourteenth Amendment only insofar as they are traceable to the prior system and continue to have segregative effects, either by influencing student choice or otherwise. 2. New Academic Programs a. District court ruling The programmatic expansions of Jackson State and Alcorn State ordered by the district court respond to its findings 54 concerning deliberate efforts by the State of Mississippi to restrict the educational opportunities of its black citizens, as well as the traceability of current mission assignments to these historical antecedents. See Ayers II, 879 F. Supp. at 1437-41, 1477, 1483-86. As the district court found, after establishment of Alcorn State in 1871 and continuing through roughly the first half of this century, the prevailing notion concerning the education of blacks was that blacks could benefit only from agricultural or mechanical training, rather than a liberal education as provided to whites. Id. at 1437-38. Alcorn State was originally designated as an agricultural college for Mississippi’s black youth, and Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State, founded in 1940 and 1950, respectively, were established primarily to train black teachers. Ayers I, 674 F. Supp. at 1527-28. During the years 1945 through 1970, when both the HWIs and the HBIs experienced considerable growth in enrollment, the bulk of the State’s higher education resources, particularly programmatic allocations, went to University of Mississippi, University of Southern Mississippi, and Mississippi State University, the three leading white universities. Ayers II, 879 F. Supp. at 1439. The district court found that the mission designations adopted by the Board in 1981 -- and in place throughout both the 1987 and 1994 trials -- effectively fixed the scope of programmatic offerings that were in place at each university during the de jure period. Id. at 1438-39. The Board designated 55 University of Mississippi, University of Southern Mississippi, and Mississippi State University “comprehensive” universities, thereby indicating that these institutions would continue to offer a greater number and a higher level of degree programs than all other institutions. Based on its location in the city of Jackson, Jackson State was designated an “urban” university with the mission of serving the urban community. The Board designated Alcorn State, Delta State, Mississippi University for Women, and Mississippi Valley State “regional” universities, signifying a programmatic range limited to undergraduate instruction. Id. at 1438. In Fordice, the Supreme Court found that when combined with the differential admission practices and unnecessary program duplication, it is likely that the mission designations interfere with student choice and tend to perpetuate the segregated system. On remand, the court should inquire whether it would be practicable and consistent with sound educational practices to eliminate any such discriminatory effects of the State’s present policy of mission assignments. 505 U.S. at 741. The district court indeed found that “[p]olicies and practices governing the missions of the institutions of higher learning are traceable to de jure segregation and continue to foster separation of the races.” Ayers II, 879 F. Supp. at 1477. The remedial decree, however, does not order any alteration of the mission designations. See id. at 1483.52 No party appeals retention of the mission 52 The Board apparently has upgraded the mission of Jackson State to an “enhanced” urban designation. Ayers II, 879 F. Supp. at 1483. 56 designations per se. The remedial decree does order some augmentation of the programs offered at Jackson State and Alcorn State.53 The district court found that the policies and practices of de jure segregation impeded the development of both universities. Id. at 1466, 1484. At Jackson State, the court found that the dearth of professional programs hindered potential other-race enrollment at the main campus. Id. at 1485. Although the court found that the record supported neither the educational soundness of transferring programs to Jackson State nor the desegregative potential of institutional affiliation with the University of Mississippi Medical Center, it found that the addition of other unique, high demand programs did have potential to desegregate the institution. See id. at 1485-86. The district court accordingly ordered implementation at Jackson State of programs in allied health, social work (Ph.D), urban planning (Masters/Ph.D), and business (DBA).54 Id. at 1494. In addition, the remedial decree directs the Board to undertake an institutional study with the express purpose of determining the nature and direction of those programs slated to be implemented, as well as further programmatic expansion at JSU, to best achieve the urban emphasis of its mission. Included in this study will be an evaluation of the 53 The remedial decree orders the State to provide the funding for all measures ordered by the decree. Ayers II, 879 F. Supp. at 1496. 54 The doctoral program in business is to be implemented at Jackson State “when existing business programs are accredited.” Ayers II, 879 F. Supp. at 1494. 57 feasibility and educational soundness of establishing an engineering school, a public law school, and a fiveyear pharmacy program under the direction and control of JSU. Id. at 1495. With respect to Alcorn State, the district court found that certain proposed programmatic enhancements promised realistically to increase other-race presence and were educationally sound. Accordingly, the district court ordered implementation of an MBA program at Alcorn’s Natchez Center, to be funded specially by the State along with related capital improvements. The court also ordered the State to provide the Small Farm Development Center at Alcorn with annual research and extension funds to match similar federal funds appropriated to Alcorn, up to an aggregate of $4 million each year.55 Id. at 1495. The district court did not order any programmatic enhancements at Mississippi Valley State. Although the court found that Mississippi Valley State’s proximity to Delta State tended to perpetuate segregation,56 it stated that [o]n the record . . . the court cannot find that institutional enhancement of MVSU will eliminate the vestiges of segregation that have contributed to MVSU’s status as essentially a one-race institution. Evidence does not persuade the court that merely adding programs and increasing budgets will desegregate a HBI. That is not to say, however, that changes made over time at the 55 The Small Farm Development Center falls within the land grant function of Alcorn State. While we note this component of the remedial decree here, we discuss the court’s ruling with respect to land grant programs separately below. 56 The district court’s findings with respect to the segregative effects of proximate and nonproximate institutions are set forth in our discussion of program duplication infra. 58 university consistent with its mission as a baccalaureate institution cannot promote diversity at the campus. The court cannot find that institutional or programmatic enhancement of MVSU is justified as educationally sound for desegregation purposes based on this record. Id. at 1491. The court also found, however, that while there is evidence to suggest that transferring programs to MVSU may not be educationally sound, there is likewise evidence that measures can be taken which, over time, offer a potential of desegregating MVSU. As one of the State’s own witnesses testified, evidence suggests that HBIs in other formally de jure segregated states have been successful in integrating their student bodies through a variety of approaches and measures. Id. The sole portion of the remedial decree that pertains specifically to Mississippi Valley State is the following section concerning the proposed merger with Delta State: 12. If, after further study of any available educationally sound alternatives, the Board determines that desegregation in the Mississippi Delta can be attained only through its DSU/MVSU consolidation proposal and that abandoning the financial investment presently in place at the [MVSU] campus and constructing replacement facilities at the [DSU] campus present a practical course of action, it shall substantiate that conclusion no later than July 1, 1996 to the Monitoring Committee. Id. at 1495. Finally, the district court determined that practices concerning accreditation of academic programs at the HBIs did not warrant remedial relief.57 The court found that while none of the HBIs was accredited as of 1961, each has now attained 57 Private plaintiffs and the United States challenged “[t]he practice of failing to take the necessary steps (including the provision[] of required facilities) to secure the accreditation of programs at the HBIs.” Ayers II, 879 F. Supp. at 1497, 1501. 59 accreditation and “[s]ince 1980, with the possible exception of JSU, the overall percentage of programs accredited at all universities has increased substantially.” Id. at 1441. The court found that the State’s “inattentiveness” to the HBIs during the de jure period with regard to program and institutional accreditation negatively affected institutional prestige, but that “there is no evidence that the State’s previous failings in this regard persist into the present day.” Id. at 1445. The court stated that little evidence had been presented on the present status of the accreditation issue. Id. b. Arguments on appeal Plaintiffs argue that the district court erred as a matter of law by failing to order any new programs at Mississippi Valley State and only two new programs at Alcorn State. While plaintiffs do not challenge the district court’s rejection of the Board’s proposal to merge Mississippi Valley State and Delta State, they contend that the record does not support the court’s conclusion that programmatic enhancement of Mississippi Valley State will not help to desegregate the Delta. Plaintiffs argue with respect to Alcorn State that further relief is warranted given the Natchez location of the MBA program, which plaintiffs contend will not help to desegregate the main campus,58 and the State’s prior commitment to funding the Small Farm Development Center. The United States specifically asks this court to remand 58 The Natchez Center is located approximately 40 miles from Alcorn’s main campus. Ayers I, 674 F. Supp. at 1542. 60 with instructions to order the Board to study and report to the Monitoring Committee on actions that could be taken to enable Mississippi Valley State and Alcorn State to attract students of all races, including improvement of existing programs and the addition of unique, high demand programs.59 Plaintiffs do not appeal the district court’s order as it pertains to programmatic enhancement of Jackson State.60 Private plaintiffs also argue that the district court clearly erred in finding that problems with accreditation of programs at the HBIs do not persist to the present. Defendants contend that the traceability of mission assignments does not warrant institutional enhancement of the HBIs beyond that ordered by the district court, and that the record does not support general enhancement of these institutions as a desegregation tool. c. Analysis The issue of programmatic enhancement directly implicates policies governing institutional missions, which the district court found to be traceable to the de jure system and to have current segregative effects. Fordice mandates that the State 59 The United States in its brief argues that the district court should have ordered additional funding at the HBIs to, among other things, “improve the quality of existing programs.” U.S. Br. at 44. Except for specific issues (such as, for example, program accreditation and faculty salaries) that we have addressed elsewhere in this opinion, the general issue of program quality is not briefed and we therefore do not address it. 60 The parties’ arguments concerning the land grant programs in particular are discussed in Part III.B.3 infra. 61 eliminate such vestiges of the prior system to the extent practicable and consistent with sound educational practices. This is a substantial burden; accordingly, to the extent that the record indicates that the State could practicably take steps to desegregate that do not run afoul of sound educational practices, the State has a duty to do so and the remedial decree should so reflect. Our review of the record leads us to conclude that the district court’s finding that “merely adding programs and increasing budgets” is not likely to desegregate an HBI, Ayers II, 879 F. Supp. at 1491, is supported by the evidence and is not clearly erroneous. There was testimony that the Louisiana experience with implementation of a consent decree to desegregate public institutions of higher education was not successful in attracting white students to historically black universities, despite investment of over $75 million in new academic programs at those universities. The evidence showed that there was no correlation between dollars expended on new program implementation and white enrollment in those programs. During the six years (1981-87) that the Louisiana consent decree was in effect, white enrollment in predominantly black universities increased by just 1.1%, while black enrollment in predominantly white universities decreased from 56% to 47% of black enrollment in the system as a whole.61 61 Cf. United States v. Louisiana, 692 F. Supp. 642, 645 (E.D. La. 1988) (“Despite the slight increase in black enrollment statewide, the racial polarization has increased as a whole 62 The district court’s findings do indicate, however, that steps can be taken that might serve to desegregate Mississippi Valley State, although determining what those steps might be requires further study. In its discussion of Mississippi Valley State in the context of the proposed merger with Delta State, the court stated that “evidence suggests that HBIs in other formally de jure segregated states have been successful in integrating their student bodies through a variety of approaches and measures.” Id. Indeed, evidence presented by the United States and defendants indicates that well-planned programs that respond to the particular needs and interests of local populations can help to desegregate historically black institutions. Witnesses for both parties testified that programs not duplicated at proximate institutions, targeted to local demands, and in many cases offered through alternative delivery systems (such as offcampus, evening, or weekend programs) have had success in attracting white students to historically black institutions in other states. Consistent with its findings regarding the potential to desegregate Mississippi Valley State, the district court stated during the term of the consent decree: the predominantly white institutions had about 2000 fewer black students in 1987 than in 1981, while the predominantly black institutions showed only a negligible increase in white enrollment from around 0.3% in 1981 to around 1.1% in 1987.”). According to the three-judge court that reviewed the special master’s final report in the Louisiana case, “[t]he experience of the consent decree confirms that enhancement of [predominantly black institutions] without more simply makes [predominantly black institutions] more attractive to black students, without attracting white students.” United States v. Louisiana, 718 F. Supp. 499, 508 (E.D. La. 1989). 63 in its opinion that it “will direct the Board to explore these areas more thoroughly to determine what measures have had success in other systems of higher education, if any, which also have a reasonable chance of success in desegregating MVSU.” Id. at 1492. This directive, however, was not incorporated into the remedial decree. This may be explained by the fact that the future of Mississippi Valley State was uncertain at the time the district court drafted its opinion. Under the remedial decree, merger with DSU remained a possibility that depended upon the Board’s study of options for desegregating the Delta region. We cannot conclude that the district court abused its discretion in failing to order the above relief when the very existence of Mississippi Valley State as an independent institution remained in question. At present, however, all parties apparently have concluded that merger of Mississippi Valley State with Delta State is neither required nor desired.62 On remand, the district court must clarify the status of the merger proposal. If the district court confirms that merger will no longer be pursued, then the district court must address the continuing segregative effects of Mississippi Valley State’s limited mission and incorporate into its remedial decree a provision requiring the Board, on a continuing basis, to study and report to the 62 Counsel for defendants stated at oral argument before this court that defendants had publicly announced that they were no longer pursuing merger. In its brief, the United States expressed unqualified support for the district court’s rejection of the merger proposal. Private plaintiffs’ argument for enhancement of Mississippi Valley State likewise indicates their opposition to merger. 64 Monitoring Committee on new academic programs that have a reasonable chance of increasing other-race presence at Mississippi Valley State. Plaintiffs’ contention that the district court was required to order further relief at Alcorn State is less persuasive, at least as it addresses the short term. We are not persuaded that further relief is warranted on the basis of the MBA program’s location away from the main campus at Natchez; plaintiffs’ own expert testified that off-campus offerings are among those initiatives that have been successful at attracting other-race students to historically black institutions. Nor are we persuaded that the State’s prior commitment to funding the Small Farm Development Center necessitates the order of additional relief; this fact does not implicate the Fordice standard for remedial relief. The record does suggest, however, that measures that have been successful in desegregating historically black institutions in other states may have potential over the longer term to be effective also at Alcorn State. We see no reason, in light of the traceability of the HBIs’ limited missions and of their continuing racial identifiability, to limit continuing study of new academic programs with desegregative potential to Jackson State. The district court should have incorporated such relief with respect to Alcorn State into the remedial decree. We recognize that substantial evidence indicates that efforts to desegregate an HBI can succeed only insofar as they tap into locale-specific demands. Any such inherent limitation 65 on the potential to achieve desegregation in the university context may underlie some of the district court’s findings and suggests that implementation of unique, high demand programs that can reasonably be expected to attract white students to HBIs may ultimately turn out to be quite modest. Private plaintiffs’ argument that the district court clearly erred in finding no present neglect by the State with respect to accreditation of programs at the HBIs is unavailing. The district court’s finding of substantial increases in the percentage of programs accredited at all universities is supported by the record, and private plaintiffs do not identify any present policy that currently hinders accreditation of programs at the HBIs. Private plaintiffs’ accreditation concerns are relevant, however, to one aspect of the district court’s remedial decree. The doctoral program in business that the court ordered at Jackson State is not to be implemented until existing business programs are accredited, and the record indicates that despite the Board’s goal of achieving accreditation for these programs, set forth as early as 1974 in the Board’s plan of compliance with Title VI, it has not yet been accomplished. The record is not clear as to the reasons that these programs are not yet accredited. In the interest of ensuring that the district court’s order concerning the doctoral program in business be given meaningful effect, the district court on remand should inquire into present efforts to achieve accreditation of Jackson 66 State’s business programs and order any relief that is appropriate with respect to the Board. d. Conclusions regarding new academic programs We affirm the portions of the remedial decree addressing the addition of new academic programs at Jackson State and Alcorn State. We direct the district court on remand to clarify the status of the Board’s proposal to merge Mississippi Valley State with Delta State. If the district court confirms that merger will no longer be pursued, it should incorporate into the remedial decree a provision directing the Board to study and to report to the Monitoring Committee on whether there are any new academic programs, including programs which have had success in desegregating other systems of higher education, that may have a reasonable chance of success in desegregating Mississippi Valley State. We further remand for incorporation into the remedial decree of a similar provision directed to Alcorn State covering new academic and land grant programs. On the issue of accreditation, the district court should determine the status of current efforts to achieve accreditation of existing business programs at Jackson State and order appropriate relief, if necessary, to ensure that the Board is taking steps commensurate with its role in this accreditation process. 3. Land Grant Programs a. District court ruling Mississippi State University and Alcorn State University are 67 Mississippi’s two public land grant institutions.63 As found by the district court, the traditional elements of the land grant function consist of residential instruction, agricultural research (including an experiment station), and an extension service.64 Ayers II, 879 F. Supp. at 1464. The district court found that during the de jure period the State consistently directed federal and state land grant funds toward Mississippi State University rather than Alcorn State. Id. at 1464-65. Specifically, Mississippi directed all federal funding for agricultural research under the Hatch Act, 7 U.S.C. §§ 361a-361i, and all federal funding for extension services to farmers under the Smith-Lever Act, 7 U.S.C. §§ 341-349, to Mississippi State,65 while Alcorn State received federal funding only under an 1890 federal statute providing funds for black land grant colleges. 63 “A land grant institution is defined as a college university [sic] entitled to financial and programmatic support from the federal government pursuant to a series of statutes originating with the Morrill Acts enacted by Congress in 1862 and 1890.” Ayers I, 674 F. Supp. at 1543. The Morrill Act of 1862 and subsequent statutes “defined the land grant college to be an institution that provides instruction in agriculture and mechanical arts, research in agriculture through the experimental stations, and extension of knowledge to farmers through cooperative extension programs.” Id. 64 Cooperative extension is a joint effort of the federal government, land grant institutions, and county governments to transfer knowledge to farmers and assist in the development of farm operations. Ayers I, 674 F. Supp. at 1545. Cooperative extension originated with the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, 7 U.S.C. §§ 341-349, and is jointly financed by federal, state, and county governments. Ayers I, 674 F. Supp. at 1545. 65 Although the district court made no specific finding in this regard, the evidence indicates that matching state funds were directed to Mississippi State along with the Hatch and Smith-Lever federal appropriations. 68 Ayers II, 879 F. Supp. at 1464. As a result, Mississippi State enjoys land grant activities of much greater size and breadth than Alcorn State. Id. at 1466. The district court found that “[o]peration and maintenance of two racially identifiable land grant programs are traceable to de jure segregation and have segregative effects.” Id. at 1477. The court made findings with respect to each of the traditional land grant functions. The court found that the quality of residential instruction is directly and positively affected by agricultural research conducted on the campus of a land grant institution, which is more extensive at Mississippi State than at Alcorn State due to Mississippi State’s broader research mission. Id. at 1464, 1466. Turning to agricultural research, the court found: With little or no exception, federal Hatch Act dollars are administered in every state by a single institution. In this time of fewer and fewer persons entering the field of agriculture, but the system nevertheless effectively feeding more and more people, it would be inefficient and, thus, educationally unsound to administer two separate agricultural research programs in the state. To diffuse the program would create two separate administrative entities, difficulties in communication among the participating scientists, and inefficient duplication. Id. at 1465. Similarly, the court found that it would be unsound to administer federal funds for cooperative extension work through two independent cooperative extension programs: The general rule of practice is that Smith-Lever funds are administered by only one university in each state. . . . To duplicate administrative processes and procedures as it relates to the delivery of extension 69 programming is unsound because the short duration of extension educational programs makes program coordination difficult from year to year. Id. at 1465-66. Although the court found that “the operation of two racially identifiable land grant institutions might continue to have some segregative effects that would be minuscule because of the small number of students now majoring in agriculture,” id. at 1484, it concluded that “[t]he current allocation of agricultural education programs is educationally sound and there exists no practical alternative to the current method of providing research and extension services.” Id. at 1466. With the exception of a special funding allocation for the Small Farm Development Center at Alcorn State, the remedial decree did not mandate any changes in current land grant policies or practices. See id. at 1494-96. b. Arguments on appeal The United States argues that “the court erred as a matter of law when it failed to evaluate alternative proposals for changes in the allocation of land grant programs short of dividing the land grant programs equally between the 2 institutions.” U.S. Br. at 47. The United States further contends that to the extent the district court’s conclusion that there are no practical alternatives to the current method of providing research and extension services “is a finding that there are no educationally sound alternatives to the present allocation of programs, that finding is clearly erroneous.” Id. Private plaintiffs advance similar arguments. Both the United 70 States and private plaintiffs cite evidence that there are unmet needs in Mississippi for new land grant programs, such as water quality, that could be met at Alcorn State. Defendants argue that the district court correctly found that any segregative effects associated with the operation of two racially identifiable land grant institutions could not be remedied consistent with sound educational practices. Defendants further contend that the addition of agricultural programs at Alcorn State will not contribute to desegregation. c. Analysis The district court’s finding that it would be impractical and educationally unsound to alter the current method of providing research and extension services is well supported by expert testimony in the record. As the district court found, the primary source of federal funds for agricultural research is the Hatch Act, and for cooperative extension funds the Smith-Lever Act. Ayers II, 879 F. Supp. at 1464. Substantial evidence indicates that federal (and matching state) funds appropriated through these acts typically are administered by a single institution in each state and that it would be unsound to administer in Mississippi either two separate research programs with Hatch funds or two separate extension programs with SmithLever funds. Contrary to the suggestion of plaintiffs, the district court opinion does not limit its consideration of changes in the allocation of research and extension funds to “equally” dividing 71 such funds between Mississippi State and Alcorn State. While the court recognized that it would be inappropriate to break up the academic and research facilities at Mississippi State and Alcorn State and divide them “equally” between educational institutions solely on the basis of Alcorn State’s heretofore restricted development, see id. at 1466, this statement reflects a legal standard rather than a finding drawn from the evidence on practicability or educational soundness. The evidence led the district court to conclude more generally that “[t]he current allocation of agricultural education programs is educationally sound and there exists no practical alternative to the current method of providing research and extension services.” Id.66 Plaintiffs’ argument that the district court should have considered alternatives other than an “equal” division of land grant programs accordingly is without merit. We read the district court’s conclusion that it would be impractical and educationally unsound to change the current practice of administering research and extension services primarily through Mississippi State to be limited to research and extension services funded through the Hatch and Smith-Lever Acts, as those statutes are now configured. Significantly, we do not read the district court opinion to preclude future implementation of land grant programs at Alcorn State. Instead, the district 66 The district court similarly stated that “[t]he evidence preponderates toward the conclusion that dividing the roles within the extension arena between two universities rather than as it is currently conducted is not an educationally sound alternative.” Ayers II, 879 F. Supp. at 1484. 72 court’s implicit decision not to order implementation at this time at Alcorn State of a program in water quality or any other land grant program offered by plaintiffs reflects the lack of sufficient definition of any of these programs in this record. The addition to the remedial decree, see Part III.B.2.d supra, of a provision directing the Board, on a continuing basis, to study and to report to the Monitoring Committee on programs that have a reasonable chance of increasing other-race presence at Alcorn State encompasses land grant programs as well as new academic programs and permits further study of the programs proposed by plaintiffs. d. Conclusions regarding land grant programs We affirm the district court’s ruling as it concerns land grant functions at Mississippi State and Alcorn State.