The conservative-dominated Supreme Court could put an end to the practice of factoring race into college admissions, after agreeing to take up a pair of court challenges claiming affirmative action is unfair to white and Asian American students on Monday.

The high court said it will take up lawsuits claiming that Harvard University, a private institution, and the University of North Carolina, a state school, discriminate against Asian American applicants.

The suits claim that affirmative action gives an edge to African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans over Asian students.    

A decision against the schools could mean the end of affirmative action in college admissions.

The Supreme Court is adding affirmative action to a slate of cases that's already politically charged with issues concerning abortion, guns, religion and COVID-19 also on the docket. 

Its decision to take up the case was praised by Republicans in Congress but criticized by others who say abolishing affirmative action is removing a guardrail against inequality.  

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki declined to comment on the specific cases when asked to at her daily press briefing on Monday, but said: 'We strongly believe, this administration, in the benefits of diversity in higher education and we take very seriously our commitment to advancing equity and equal opportunity for historically underserved populations.'

Lower courts had previously rejected the challenges to admissions practices, citing more than 40 years of Supreme Court rulings that allow colleges and universities to consider race in admissions decisions. But the colleges and universities must do so in a narrowly tailored way to promote diversity.