The University of California at Los Angeles has responded to a sharp drop in black enrollments by instituting what it calls a more holistic admissions process, in order to identify and admit deserving black students without running afoul of the state’s ban on affirmative-action preferences. Possibly just as important as the university’s new admissions system is a $1.75-million scholarship fund reserved for African-American students.

The fund, which is to be officially announced today and is described in today’s Los Angeles Times, does not violate the law because it was created by a private group of prominent black alumni of UCLA and will be run a local nonprofit foundation. The university will play no direct role in the effort, in accordance with the law, but UCLA has certainly not discouraged it. The scholarships will start at $1,000 and may range as high as $9,000. —Andrew Mytelka