College Board Discontinues Landscape Tool for College Admissions

The College Board, a nonprofit organization focused on assisting schools and students during the admissions phase, declared on Tuesday that it has discontinued its tool meant to offer colleges demographic insights about schools and neighborhoods.

This Landscape tool provided data on income levels within university communities and surrounding areas, which colleges used to make informed assumptions about prospective students during admissions. The College Board cited evolving federal and state policies as the primary reason for shutting down the program.

“Since 2016, Landscape has consistently offered information about high schools and neighborhoods, helping universities better understand where students live and study,” the College Board noted regarding the decision. “As policies about the use of demographic and geographic information change, we are making adjustments to continue serving students and institutions effectively.”

Originally, the Landscape tool was designed to be developed without considering data pertaining to race or ethnicity. However, the insights it provided enabled institutions to make decisions aimed at diversifying student bodies.

In light of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling, which prohibits schools from factoring race into admissions, there have been reports that some institutions are still employing strategies to encourage recruitment in specific areas and leveraging language that invites discussions about race in applications.

Though a federal court recently blocked a memo outlining enforcement of positive litigation decisions from the Education Department, it still prompted numerous investigations based on the Supreme Court’s decision.