MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is hearing a white Texan's challenge to the use of race in college admissions for the second time in three years.

Abigail Fisher has been out of college since 2012, but the justices' renewed interest in her case is a sign that the court's conservative majority is poised to cut back, or even end, affirmative action in higher education.

The arguments Wednesday are expected to focus on whether the University of Texas' flagship campus in Austin has compelling reasons to consider race among other factors when it evaluates applicants for about a quarter of its freshman class.

Most students are admitted to the university through a plan that guarantees slots to Texans who graduate in the top 10 percent of their high school classes.

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