Harvard 'legacy' policy challenged on heels of affirmative action ruling

Harvard College was hit with a complaint on Monday claiming its policy of giving preferences to applicants for undergraduate admissions with family ties to the elite school overwhelmingly benefits white students, days after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down its race-conscious admissions policies.

Three civil rights groups filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education claiming that Harvard's preferences for "legacy" applicants violates a federal law banning race discrimination for programs that receive federal funds, as virtually all U.S. colleges and universities do.

Last week, the Supreme Court said race-conscious policies adopted by Harvard University and the University of North Carolina to ensure that more non-white students are admitted are unconstitutional. The decision was a major blow to efforts to attract diverse student bodies and is expected to prompt new challenges to admission policies.