Access and Diversity Collaborative (ADC) Buildi lding ng an an Evidence vidence Base ase to o Advance vance Dive versi rsity y Goa oals ls Key Institutional Actions After Fisher
ADC Overview • Member-requested • Member-sponsored “ I love the ADC and the vision • Sustained over time and practical training and • Practically focused tools it provides. Would like to see that mirrored in other • Deep partnership with EducationCounsel areas for the College Board. ” and other organizations “ The Access and Diversity Collaborative is terrific work — keep it up. ” “ ADC has been particularly helpful in helping me navigate access and diversity issues on campus. ” 2
Overview of Current court cases and Students for Fair Admissions group the current • Harvard University • University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill legal context Asian Americans taking center stage How ADC helps: • Legal analysis Department of Justice • Policy and practice • August NYT/Wash Post articles outlining potential plans guidance and playbooks by the U.S. Department of Justice • Research and evidence • DoJ announcement in fall 2017 to potentially investigate sourcebooks Harvard for discrimination 3
Upcoming ADC Continue to closely monitor legal and OCR actions work in 2018 Address both core and newer needs • Better and more clearly communicating what holistic admissions is (winter 2018) • “ Financial Aid listening sessions ” Strengthen collaboration with key associational partners • American Council on Education (ACE) • Association of Institutional Researchers (AIR) • Student Affairs Administrators (NASPA, APLU) • National Association for Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) 4
Key Resources Over 50 institutions of higher education and a dozen national organizations directly support the work of the ADC. A Policy and Legal “ Syllabus ” for Diversity Programs at Colleges and Universities Building an Evidence Base The Playbook (ACE, College Board, (College Board, October 2017) (College Board, October 2014) EducationCounsel, May 2015) NEW https://professionals.collegeboard.org/pdf/buil https://professionals.collegeboard.org/ http://www.acenet.edu/news- ding-evidence-base.pdf pdf/adc-playbook-october-2014.pdf room/Documents/ADC-Diversity-Syllabus- for-Institutions.pdf 5
Major Themes Overview We Know A Lot — Use That! Importance of Building an Evidence Base For Diversity Strategies: Longstanding research, policy and practice and 40 years of Supreme Court law inform effective and legally sustainable Good Policy and Legal Sustainability strategies to enhance student diversity and inclusion. Mission, Mission, Mission! Institution-specific and shared higher ed mission drive strategies to achieve the educational benefits of diversity — desired outcomes of broad diversity, benefiting all students and society. Interdisciplinary, Data-driven Collaboration is a Must! Cross-institution collaboration is needed for diversity strategies that evidence shows are effective, continuously evaluated and improved, and legally sustainable. 6
Section One: Background Policy y Dri rivers s wit ith h Legal l Design n Parameters s 7
Good Policy Good Policy: Drives Allocate scarce resources to strategies that work — make real diversity advances. Diversity Legal Sustainability: Strategy If race/ethnicity is a factor in conferring individual benefits, evidence must show — • The goal is diversity-tied, beneficial educational outcomes 40 Years of Law for all students Is A Design Parameter — • The consideration of race is necessary as neutral • Why Is An Evidence strategies are inadequate alone Base Important? 8
The Paradigm for Success — Effective Policy and Practice Evidence at the Hub Evidence Process Cross-Institution Management Engagement 9
Section Two: 5 Key Institutional Actions 10
1. Adopt A Mission- Centric Lens Keeping in Mind Legal Design Parameters For Goals and Means Institutional goals Education soundness Research and experience 11
2. Collect Diversity and inclusion policy and Document Mission Governing statement(s) statement documents with focus on Evidence broad diversity Diversity Relatedness Public to Mission Faculty Minutes from statements resolutions leadership from leaders and policies meetings Examples and faculty Curriculum Orientation Budget and relevant and training allocations pedagogical materials efforts 12
3. Engage Interdisciplinary Expert Team For Strategy Design and Evaluation Diversity Ecosystem: • Leadership • Enrollment, Curricular, Co-Curricular Experts Legal Counsel 13
4. When Neutral Use workable Deliberative design and Inventory neutral neutral strategies evaluation processes strategies and policies across the enrollment for strategies that consider race Strategies management spectrum Alone Are Use anecdotal, opinion- Use multi-variable Evaluate and demonstrate Inadequate based evidence: focus regression analyses of effectiveness of neutral groups, student course majors, retention, strategies — alone and with evaluations, student and graduation, pursuit of limited consideration of alumni surveys to graduate programs, race — Show neutral document isolation, need academic difficulty, strategies alone are for more diverse with race as not adequate engagement sole variable Use training and Engage Institutional Evidence of Neutral and Collect demographic data calibration programs for Research, use from U.S. Census, Dept. of expertise, consistency, Considering Race accreditation materials, Ed., NSF, think tanks fairness of admissions and HERI, other surveys aid processes Used and Needed to Achieve Educational Goals 14
Examples: UT insights A yearlong A dedicated study of many stakeholder sources of committee that A 39-page “ statistical and reported to the policy proposal anecdotal ” president and evidence and board of information trustees 15
5. Know • Neutral strategies do not on their face — or in their purpose or aim — prefer individuals of a particular race or ethnicity. What Neutral Design Means • They serve other authentic — mission tied purposes. • If the neutral purpose is authentic, that a program may also increase racial and ethnic diversity — as a welcome ancillary benefit — will not destroy neutrality or trigger strict scrutiny. • Strategies that do not appear neutral on their face — but do not allocate significant benefits to individuals based on race or ethnicity, and have an inclusive (rather than exclusive) effect — such as targeted outreach and minimal resource community building, are neutral. • Fisher II raises the specter that facially neutral strategies with racial diversity aims (e.g., percentage plans applied to racially segregated school systems) are not neutral. 16
Section Three: Deeper Dive: Admissions and Enrollment 17
Deeper Dive — Authentic, individualized holistic review is a best practice. When race and ethnicity are a necessary factor, holistic review is an imperative. Holistic Review Guide Coming in March 2018 Considering all aspects of each and every applicant in light of all relevant admissions factors is • NOT a mechanical weighting • NOT a thumb on the scale • NOT use of certain factors to establish separate pools for review or quotas Key Questions 1. Are the institution ’ s admission and enrollment policies mission-aligned? 2. Does the institution's admission policy reflect holistic review of the full mix of factors that provide context for or define the applicant as an individual — each in light of others? 3. Has evidence of necessity to consider race or ethnicity been documented? 4. Is race, a factor within holistic review, considered in light of all other facets of the applicant's file in a nuanced, individualized way? 18
Deeper Dive An aligned, coherent, integrated set of enrollment policies and practices is necessary to • Enhance synergies and improve outcomes • Avoid inconsistencies, inefficiencies, wasted resources • Support legal compliance (when race and ethnicity may be considered) Key Questions: 1. Is there a comprehensive inventory of all policies and programs for student outreach, recruitment, admission and aid? 2. Do the philosophy and aims of the admission policy extend to student outreach, recruitment, and aid? Is there fundamental policy alignment across sectors? 3. Where applicable, can the institution demonstrate both the need for and positive impact of considering race and ethnicity as part of any facet of enrollment practice? 19
UT insights Individualized, holistic review was just The consideration of race could benefit Fisher takeways that: individualized and holistic. any applicant, regardless of his/her race. Holistic Review and Comprehensive, The consideration of race was The pursuit of many non-admissions, Coherent, Aligned contextual — it was a factor considered race-neutral strategies supported the in light of all other elements of need to consider race in admission. a student’s profile Enrollment Management Hallmarks of UT s investment: Evidence of student perceptions ’ Intensified outreach and needs were central: reports of Increased recruitment budget isolation, stagnant applications, Numerous new recruitment events through surveys, etc. 20
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