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The Most Important Door That Will Ever Open: Realizing the Mission of Higher Education Through Equitable Recruitment, Admissions, and Enrollment Policies

Published Jun 2021

“THE MOST IMPORTANT DOOR THAT WILL EVER OPEN.”

REALIZING THE MISSION OF HIGHER EDUCATION THROUGH EQUITABLE RECRUITMENT, ADMISSIONS, AND ENROLLMENT POLICIES

In signing the Higher Education Act of 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson described education as “the most important door that will ever open.” Earning a college credential can mean a better living and a better life for students and their families. But to earn that credential, students must first navigate the admissions process. Education is indeed a door, but recruitment, admissions, and enrollment policies and practices dictate how wide that door is open. Left unexamined, these policies and practices often limit opportunities for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and underrepresented Asian American and Pacific Islander students and students from low-income backgrounds. It’s time to rethink these policies. It’s time to open the door for all of today’s students.

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REPORT
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS

RECRUITMENT

Colleges and universities expend time, money, and effort to recruit a student body. When done equitably, recruitment policies and practices can promote the inclusion of students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. But recruitment practices too often prioritize recruitment of students from wealthy, out-of-state communities, perpetuating privilege for White or affluent students and supporting a system in which an applicant’s zip code determines their future.

RETHINK RECRUITMENT ADVOCACY TOOL

DEMONSTRATED INTEREST

Demonstrated-or applicant-interest is broadly defined as the contact students make with a college that signals their preference to enroll if admitted. This includes visiting a campus, attending information sessions, participating in interviews, calling admissions offices, reading emails sent from the school, and clicking on links in emails. These policies reinforce inequities baked into institutions’ recruitment strategies and further limit access for underserved students.

RETHINK DEMONSTRATED INTEREST ADVOCACY TOOL

EARLY ADMISSIONS

Applying to college is a multi-step process that requires many decisions about where to apply and when to submit an application. Many colleges and universities offer multiple deadlines to submit applications, including “early decision” or “early action” deadlines. In doing so, these policies create a tiered approach that turns the positive notion of being an “early bird” into a policy that advantages applicants with the most resources. Students who submit early decision applications receive a boost in their admissions chances simply because they can apply early in the admissions cycle to one institution-a luxury many students from low-income backgrounds don’t have.

ELIMINATE EARLY DECISION ADVOCACY TOOL

LEGACY ADMISSIONS

While definitions vary, “legacy” policies typically apply to prospective students who are related to alumni (e.g., their children or grandchildren). Colleges and universities wield enormous power in deciding who reaps the benefits of a college degree. None of their policies and practices further advantage the advantaged as blatantly as legacy admissions. In the words of one policy officer: “It seems unjust that just the privilege of birth should give you any sort of credit in [the college admissions] process.”

END LEGACY ADMISSIONS ADVOCACY TOOL

STANDARDIZED TESTS

For nearly a century, colleges and universities have used standardized test scores as a measure of an applicant’s academic skill set and a predictor of future academic performance. Today, standardized tests serve as a gatekeeper to the upward mobility higher education offers—appearing on their face to be a neutral judge while, in practice, perpetuating racial and socioeconomic disparities. Indeed, David Hawkins, Chief Education and Policy Officer of the National Association for College Admission Counseling characterized the use of these scores as grounded in “layers upon layers of privilege.”

RETHINK THE TEST ADVOCACY TOOL

CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION

In the United States, more than 70 million Americans have been
involved in the justice system in some capacity. The “tough-on-
crime” policies of the 1980s and 1990s disproportionately impacted communities of color, especially Black and Latinx communities. That impact reverberates to all corners of our society, limiting the opportunities available to people of color. When colleges and universities collect criminal justice information (CJI) and use it to make admissions decisions, they not only fail to combat inequities, they reinforce and perpetuate them.

DON'T USE CJI ADVOCACY TOOL

TRANSFER PATHWAYS

The “traditional” four-year pathway isn’t the only pathway through higher education – and failing to account for that means failing to meet many students’ needs. Some may opt to start the college experience at a two-year institution for any number of reasons, including cost, family obligations, or work responsibilities. This can offer a more affordable, flexible, and accessible route to a bachelor’s degree – unless institutional barriers in transfer pathways prevent students from achieving their goals.

STRENGTHEN TRANSFER PATHWAYS ADVOCACY TOOL

NEED-BASED FINANCIAL AID

Given the high costs of higher education today, need-based financial aid-from the federal government, states, and institutions-is a critical factor as students determine whether and where to pursue higher education. This is especially true for students with limited financial means to devote to college expenses. Research consistently shows that financial aid awards influence student decisions about which college is right for them, both through the direct effect it has on putting an institution within reach financially, and because these awards signal to students how much a particular institution values them.

INVEST IN NEED-BASED AID ADVOCACY TOOL