FYI: The state Board of Regents voted yesterday to permanently end CUNY’s open-enrollment policy after three years of experimenting with tighter admissions standards. As the Board voted, the City Council Committee on Higher Education held a hearing in which Chair Charles Barron railed against the Board’s pending decision, charging that the policy has cut minority enrollment in an institution that has long offered young people of color a rare route to higher education. Barron cited data showing enrollment for white first-year students up 2.3 percent while Latino and black enrollment has dropped 3.1 percent and 1.5 percent respectively since CUNY began experimenting with tighter admissions. The state education commissioner’s office concluded just the opposite earlier this week, arguing that the policy has not significantly impacted minority enrollment. [12/13/02]