GETTING READY

DIVERSITY MATTERS

Why Colleges Seek to Diversify Their Student Bodies

By Sally P. Springer, PhD

College applicants naturally focus their attention on their own chances of admission to the colleges that most interest them. They see their grades, test scores, extracurricular activities, recommendations and essays as key to determining whether or not they will be admitted. Colleges, on the other hand, take a different perspective on the admissions process. While they admit individual students based on their records and accomplishments, of course, their final goal is to craft an entire incoming class that is well-rounded and meets certain institutional objectives.

Colleges that consider factors in addition to grades and test scores when making admission decisions often give preference to students from different groups. The children of alumni (or legacies), for example, may get a boost in the admissions process because colleges believe that admitting legacies contributes to alumni loyalty and helps fund-raising efforts. Athletes are often granted some preference in admissions to increase the chances of having winning sports teams. Students from underrepresented ethnic and racial groups may get a boost to help increase the diversity of the incoming class.

Colleges see the admissions process as not simply recognizing and rewarding students’ past accomplishments, but as a tool for building a community of learning. Colleges have found that selectively boosting the chances of admission for students with certain characteristics helps ensure that the freshman class meets the college’s objectives or priorities.

Of all the institutional priorities that a college might have, the pursuit of diversity is the one that is the most controversial and least understood.

The Supreme Court and Diversity in College Admissions

In 2003, the president of the University of Michigan was the defendant in a Supreme Court case involving undergraduate admissions. The case challenged Michigan’s practice of awarding points to minority students in the admissions process. The university vigorously defended the practice as necessary to achieve diversity in its student body, while opponents argued that the practice violated the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment. In a decision closely watched by the higher education community, the court ruled that while the explicit awarding of points on the basis of race or ethnicity was not permissible, the university could still consider race and ethnicity a “plus” factor in admissions decisions because of the “real” and “substantial” benefits associated with a diverse student body. But just what are those benefits? And for whom?

Improved Teaching and Learning

The college experience, at its best, exposes students to new ideas, new perspectives and new experiences. This is true both in and outside the classroom. While lectures and textbooks provide some new ideas and perspectives, a lot come from interactions with fellow students. Educators know that hearing the perspectives of students from different backgrounds enriches classroom discussion, whether it be in the interpretation of literature, history or contemporary politics. Race and ethnicity can be powerful shapers of life experiences. For many students college provides their first exposure to living and interacting closely with people whose experiences differ significantly from their own. Students of differing races and ethnicities can bring an array of experiences to the classroom that might not otherwise be represented.

Socioeconomic and geographical background can also have major influences on how one views the world, and many colleges pursue diversity along these dimensions when selecting students for their incoming class. A college with a diverse student body gives all students an opportunity to meet and interact with people who are different from themselves, and hence all students benefit from the breadth of perspectives.

Economic Benefits

The United States is part of an increasingly multicultural and international economy. As a result, higher education now has the major responsibility of preparing professionals and business leaders to function effectively with customers, clients, co-workers and business partners from diverse backgrounds. The greater the skill and ease that people have when interacting with those who are be different from themselves, the more prepared they will be to be part of the workforce in a global economy.

Colleges can help students learn how to live and work with people from different backgrounds––something they will likely have to do everyday once they graduate and begin their careers. A racially and ethnically diverse student body is essential for providing that opportunity––it cannot be simply acquired from books. International collaboration is also increasingly important in business and research, and many colleges actively seek to enroll international students to further increase the diversity of the student body.

Civic Benefits

One of the central purposes of higher education is to educate students to be contributing citizens. Effective participation as a citizen requires that individuals be able to work with fellow citizens from all backgrounds. A hallmark of democracy is the open debate that takes place before collective solutions to public problems are agreed upon. Firsthand experience with those from diverse backgrounds can help prepare students to better understand and contribute to the civic debates they will encounter later as jurors, voters and community members. Having classmates from diverse backgrounds can give young citizens important preparation for their future in a diverse society.

What Does All This Mean For College Admissions?

As noted above, the University of Michigan was successful in making its case before the Supreme Court that a diverse student body is critical for the institution to meet important educational objectives. Although the Supreme Court did not support the means by which Michigan sought to attain diversity in its freshman class, it supported the goal.

The bottom line is that many colleges believe that diversity in the student body helps all students. These colleges will continue to strive, within the constraints of federal and state law, to provide that significant educational benefit both for those who are admitted and for society as a whole.

Sally P. Springer, Ph.D., is associate chancellor emerita at the University of California-Davis. She is the co-author of Admission Matters: What Students and Parents Need to Know about Getting into College (www.admissionmatters.com).

*Story from Fall 07 issue