The US Education Department has dismissed a complaint against Harvard University by some Asian-American groups who say the university uses racial quotas to keep out high-scoring Asians. The complaint was filed in May with the department’s civil rights office by more than 60 Chinese, Indian, Korean and Pakistani groups. Education officials said the complaint was dismissed because similar concerns were the focus of a federal lawsuit. The complaining groups said they were “very disappointed.” Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were sued last year by some rejected applicants who want affirmative action policies banned. The Harvard lawsuit also contends the university specifically limits the number of Asian-Americans it admits. Harvard said its admission policies have been found to be “fully compliant with federal law” and said it “has demonstrated a strong record of recruiting and admitting Asian-American students.” The university said Tuesday that the percentage of Asian-American students admitted to Harvard College has risen from 17.6 per cent to 21 per cent over the past decade.