WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The U.S. Supreme Court is set to rule Thursday on two landmark cases that could dismantle affirmative action and student loan forgiveness policies, which could erect more roadblocks for diversity on college and university campuses.

In the affirmative action cases, the court is considering the use of race-conscious admissions policies that many selective colleges have used for decades to help build diversity on their campuses.

The court considered two separate cases on affirmative action, brought by Students for Fair Admission against Harvard and the Univerity of North Carolina, which has argued the schools’ admission processes have discriminated against white and Asian American applicants. 

In the 1960s and 1970s, many colleges developed affirmative action plans to address the fact that many predominantly white schools struggled to attract people from historically disadvantaged and underrepresented communities. Policies were also created to promote greater inclusion of women.

Since the late 1970s, the Supreme Court has three times upheld affirmative action in college admissions on grounds that institutions have a compelling interest to address past discrimination that shut nonwhite students out of higher learning. Justices have also agreed with arguments that more diverse student bodies promoted cross-racial understanding.

If the court rules for the students, the decision would upend decades of precedent for the limited use of race as a factor in the process, making it one of the biggest reversals for the Supreme Court since it overturned Roe v. Wade last year.

The case also has the potential to force many of the country’s top institutions to change the way they admit students and find race-neutral alternatives to promote diversity in their institutions. 

In a study cited by Harvard University, in this case, around 40% of U.S. colleges take race into account during admissions. 

During oral arguments, supporters argued that affirmative action helps lead to a diverse student body, while the advocates brought up concerns about classifying applicants by their race. 

“When students of all races and backgrounds come to college and live together and learn together, they become better colleagues better citizens and better leaders,” said U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar.

“This court should admit it was wrong about Harvard, wrong about Grutter, and wrong about letting the poison of racial classifications seep back into education,” said Cameron Norris, an attorney for Students for Fair Admissions.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden’s Student Debt Relief Plan also faces challenges.

The plan forgives up to $10,000 in federal student debt for borrowers and doubles the debt relief to $20,000 for borrowers who also received Pell Grants and makes less than $125,000 per year. About half of the average debt held by Black and Hispanic borrowers would be wiped out, according to the White House.

In February, during oral arguments, SCOTUS seemed to cast doubt on whether the Biden administration had legal authority to cancel billions of dollars in student debt. Six Republican-led states also filed a legal challenge questioning whether the president, a Democrat, has the authority to forgive the debt.

In Congress, some Democrats joined Republicans in voting to block the program. But Biden vetoed that bill earlier this month. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.