Author Archives: W. Lee Hansen

Letter: grading system failing

March 20, 2013 The Daily Cardinal Problems with the grading done by TAs go well beyond the “inconsistencies” discussed in Eli Bovarnick’s Opinion March 21 column, “TA grading system inherently flawed.” Even more important is how accurately the grades TAs … Continue reading

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But Can They Really Write? Assessing UW-Madison’s Comm A General Education Requirement

Summary:  This paper asks whether there is any evidence UW-Madison undergraduate students can write more accurate and effective prose since the introduction of a new two-semester required communication course sequence in 1996. That requirement was established in response to widespread … Continue reading

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Inconsistencies in diversity housing necessitate audit

May 2, 2012 The Badger Herald   Why is it so difficult to obtain information on the characteristics and financing of the Minority and Disadvantaged Student program operated by the University of Wisconsin’s University Housing Division? Undergraduates living in the dorms may be … Continue reading

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In search of the real cost for UW diversity programs

November 5, 2011 Wisconsin State Journal What is the dollar value of the resources devoted to promoting racial and ethnic diversity at UW-Madison? Though campus administrators regularly extol the educational benefits of diversity, they say little about the costs of … Continue reading

Posted in Preferrential Admissions | Leave a comment

UW-Madison should treat all applicants the same way

November 1, 2011 Isthmus The Daily Page In September, the Center for Equal Opportunity’s reports documenting “severe discrimination” favoring blacks and Hispanics in UW-Madison undergraduate and law school admissions came as no surprise. This discrimination has been well known to … Continue reading

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Unanswered Questions: UW-Madison Students Protest CEO Report on Racial and Ethnic Preferences in Admissions

October 21, 2011 National Association of Scholars “Whatever may be the limitations which trammel inquiry elsewhere, we believe that the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth … Continue reading

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Better answers required to justify holistic admissions process

October 19, 2011 The Badger Herald Exactly how are minority applicant admissions decisions made at the University of Wisconsin? At Monday’s Legislative Assembly committee hearing, Provost Paul DeLuca and Admissions Director Adele Brumfield described the process. They also dismissed the … Continue reading

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Preferential admissions alive and well at UW

October 5, 2011 Capital Times UW-Madison campus leaders and minority students responded as expected to the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Equal Opportunity report that revealed “severe discrimination” based on race and ethnicity in UW-Madison undergraduate admissions. Campus leaders claimed their … Continue reading

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From the inside, protesters were ‘mob’

September 21, 2011 Wisconsin State Journal A different picture of last week’s student protest over UW admissions discrimination emerged from my vantage point inside the Doubletree Hotel press conference room compared to that of the author of Monday’s letter “Student … Continue reading

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The ‘Hansen Diversity Plan’

September 26, 2010 The Badger Herald This column is an introduction to the “Hansen Diversity Plan”, in which I propose a new approach to enhance the effectiveness of campus diversity efforts. In the past, I have been critical of the … Continue reading

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