The state agency charged with advising policy makers on higher education issues has taken a stance against a voter initiative that would ban the state from collecting racial statistics.

"These data are used to assist decision-makers in understanding the levels of participation of students from various populations at our state's colleges and universities," said Howard Welinsky, vice chairman of the California Postsecondary Education Commission. "Without such data, we wouldn't know whether institutions are in compliance with the equal opportunity laws of California and the United States."

The commission, a little-known state agency that, among other duties, gathers voluminous statistics on the student body at public colleges and universities, voted 7-1 Tuesday to oppose the initiative, which will appear on the March ballot.

One member abstained in the vote.

The commission's vote is merely symbolic, however, since voters will ultimately decide the fate of the initiative.

Ward Connerly, the Sacramento businessman who was a sponsor of the 1996 state proposition that banned the use of affirmative action in university admissions and public hiring, is a driving force behind the initiative.

It would essentially eliminate the race box on government forms by forbidding state and local governments from classifying students, contractors or employees by race, ethnicity, color or national origin.

Connerly, who is also a University of California regent, said the classification is a form of segregation and has become meaningless in an increasingly diverse society.

Education commission members, however, said the initiative would limit their ability to assess state programs that are designed to help students from a variety of racial, ethnic, socio-economic and geographic groups get into and succeed in colleges and universities.

In May, UC regents also voted to oppose the initiative, saying it would interfere with their ability to conduct research.

An independent poll in April found that 48 percent of Californians support the measure.