¿Suburbio o Barrio? Using Data Science to Study Off-Campus Recruiting by Public Research Universities

• In Event: Contemporary Equity-Driven Policy Work

Abstract

Knowing which student populations are targeted by university recruiting efforts can yield credible indicators of university enrollment preferences. Unfortunately, scholarship on recruiting is rare because researchers have been unable to obtain recruiting data. This case-study investigates which high schools, community colleges, and communities receive visits by admissions recruiters from public research universities. We collect data on off-campus recruiting events from eight universities by "scraping"€ admissions websites. We merge recruiting data to secondary data on high school, community college, and community characteristics. By analyzing the socioeconomic and racial characteristics of schools and communities that receive recruiting visits versus those that do not, this study assesses inequity in recruiting patterns and considers how recruiting can contribute to policy discourse on access inequality.

Authors

• Karina Gracia Salazar, The University of Arizona

• Ozan Jaquette, University of California - Los Angeles

• Crystal Han, University of California - Los Angeles

• Die Hu, University of California - Los Angeles