WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court announced Monday it will decide whether the use of race in the admissions process at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina violates civil rights law and the Constitution, reviving a controversial legal debate over affirmative action that has been years in the making.

The decision to hear the two cases puts the contentious issue of whether universities may consider race when accepting students before the high court for the first time 2016. Harvard acknowledges considering race in its admissions process, but says it does so as one of several factors – an approach that is consistent with the current legal standard.

The high court did not say when it will consider the affirmative action suits, but given the number of cases already queued up for argument this year, there's a good chance the justices won't take the matter up until its next term, which begins in October. .

The group charged that Harvard University and the University of North Carolina discriminate against Asian American and white students in their admissions to boost African American and Hispanic enrollment.

That same group filed a companion case at the high court in November, this time against the University of North Carolina, a public school.

A federal district court ruled for the University of North Carolina in that separate case in October