Results from the testing of the Applications Quest software could lead to AU licensing the software for commercial use or to Auburn becoming a national service center for admissions data management.

Participants in the pilot test range from Auburn's undergraduate and graduate admissions programs to other universities in the northeast and west.

"Our agreement restricts identifying the institutions participating in the pilot study," says Juan Gilbert, the assistant professor in AU's Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering who invented the software.

Gilbert says he began working on the software following the 2003 Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action in student admissions. Although the ruling allows considerations for minorities in the admissions process, it requires a complete review of every application before considering race.

However, Gilbert says the ruling is not clear about how this review should be accomplished, and as a result many institutions are ignoring race altogether.

Applications Quest provides a complete review of applicants by enabling comparisons of complete applications using all the data provided, including race, academic performance, gender and family economic background, says Gilbert.

Much more robust than statistical analysis software which enables largely numeric comparisons and analysis, Applications Quest groups applicants into clusters of similarly qualified students with similar backgrounds, Gilbert says.

Gilbert's new software also enables the comparison of numerous applicants at once, something that humans cannot do, he says. This presents a way to more equitably compare applicants. Race then becomes only one of many important factors to consider.

By comparing so many factors, Gilbert says it would be rare for a cluster to contain students of only one race. Applications Quest is a tool that admissions programs can use to ensure a diverse enrollment and compliance with associated legal requirements, he said.

Institutions participating in the ongoing pilot study have provided their admissions data to Auburn, where it is stored and managed through AU's Center for Innovations in Mobile, Pervasive, and Agile Computing Technologies.

Each participating institution has access to its data for management and examination, but its data is maintained secure and confidential, Gilbert said.

Auburn has filed a preliminary patent on Applications Quest. After the pilot study ends this fall term, AU will pursue its commercialization options through the Office of Technology Transfer.

There may be other applications beyond university admissions, says Brian Wright, OTT interim associate director for commercialization.

"We are already looking into the software's potential, and we believe that it may mean a lot for Auburn and other institutions in the near future," says Wright.