The University of Virginia said it would continue the practice of legacy admissions despite a shift among universities to ditch the practice after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in June.

In a Tuesday statement, the public university in Charlottesville, Virginia, announced it would comply with the court's ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and would no longer consider an applicant's race in the admissions process. But the university said it intends to continue the practice of legacy admissions, which advantages applicants whose family members previously attended.

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The university said the application process will now include an optional essay prompt that gives "all students — not only, for example, the children of our graduates, but also the descendants of ancestors who labored at the University, as well as those with other relationships — the chance to tell their unique stories" UVA President Jim Ryan and Provost Ian Baucom said in a statement.

"The court's ruling did not extend to how colleges and universities may consider the children of their graduates, but it has given us the opportunity to clarify how we do so, and also to invite other candidates with personal or historic relationships with UVA to explain those relationships and why they matter," the university officials said.

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Legacy admissions have come under increased scrutiny since the court's ruling, and several universities have announced they will no longer consider an applicant's family history with the school in the admissions process.

Last month, the Department of Education opened a federal civil rights investigation into Harvard University over its legacy admissions practice. A group of Massachusetts advocacy groups had urged the department to investigate legacy admissions as racially discriminatory.