The Institute for Higher Education Policy’s (IHEP) report, titled “The Most Important Door That Will Ever Open,” shows how college recruitment practices hinder diversity efforts.
Practices cited in IHEP’s report include heavy recruitment of students from wealthy communities, legacy admissions, early decision and early action deadlines, and “demonstration of interest” policies that disadvantage students without the resources for campus visits.
Mamie Voight, IHEP president and CEO, said it’s on post-secondary institutions to increase their outreach to low-income communities, especially after affirmative action’s abolishment.
“If colleges are spending a lot of their resources recruiting in high-income neighborhoods, they can shift that to low-income communities and communities with first-generation students,” Voight told The Informer.
“When you think about legacy admissions, some of those institutions provide legacy students with perks like special interviews throughout the admissions process, special lunches or in-state tuition to legacy students who live out of state,” Voight added. “Those institutions could recoup those costs and put it toward needs-based financial aid.”
Read the full article at The Washington Informer.
