The complaint describes a reception for prospective Harvard students held at the Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham in early December 1992. "A 'neutral' atmosphere would have been more appropriate for following non-discriminatory rules," the complaint said.

Fitzsimmons said that civil rights are important to Harvard, and that receptions are held wherever area alumni chose to hold them.

The dean said Harvard is complying with the requests of the federal investigators, but would not say if the University has turned the applications or files of the two students in question over to the federal government.

The Harvard admissions process takes into account academic, extracurricular and personal credentials, Fitzsimmons said, because some 80 percent of those who apply are considered academically qualified to attend Harvard.

"All of the people who come here are fully qualified to be here," Fitzsimmons said. "We want people to understand that while ethnic background can be one factor that we use...we look at all factors."

Fitzsimmons said it is necessary to aggressively recruit students in a wide variety of areas in order to arrive at a talented and diverse class.

The admissions office has weathered several other federal investigations in recent years.

In the spring of 1991, it agreed to stop engaging in price-fixing with the other Ivy League schools following a Justice Department lawsuit. The office was cleared in fall 1990 of charges that it illegally discriminates against Asian-American applicants