Accounting for Culture in Undergraduate Admission: Holistic Review and the Experiences of American Indian Students and Admissions Staff

• In Event: 15.039 - The College Experience for Indigenous Youth: Facing Roadblocks While Engaging With Cultural Identity and Policy

Abstract

Purpose
Colleges and universities across the country espouse commitments to diversity. Affirmative action has been one mechanism for working towards racial diversity on college campuses. In 1996, California residents voted to eliminate affirmative action in college admissions. University of California (UC) instituted the holistic review process in order to support the goal of having a diverse student population (“Regents Policy 2108: Resolution Regarding Individualized Review and Holistic Evaluation in Undergraduate Admissions | Board of Regents,” n.d.). The holistic review takes into account the environment that the student is in and any opportunities, or challenges, that a student faces at their high school and community environment. It is also used as a tool to increase diversity on college campuses; however, we know very little about how the process works in real time or how the applications of American Indian students get read.
The UC application requires every student to submit responses for the personal statement. This provides an opportunity for prospective American Indian freshmen students to write about cultural involvement in their American Indian community. How does the UC system take into account culture and how does this impact American Indian students? This research project looks at research on admission processes as well as uses the University of California, Los Angeles campus as a case study for interviewing current UCLA American Indian students and admission staff on their experience with the admission process.
Theoretical Framework
The limited research on holistic review focuses on institutions using the process to recruit diverse health care students, both undergraduate and graduate. Research also demonstrates that cultural identity plays a significant role in American Indian students’ college-going experiences and they develop culturally-based practices when making decisions during their time in academia (Waterman & Lindley, 2013). By referencing various indigenous scholars work on college going processes and identity, these findings suggest that culture may also play a key role in the application/admission process.
Data Sources
By conducting ethnographic and semi-structured interviews of American Indian students and admission staff, I take a comparative approach to examine their experiences as well as used case study methods to explore holistic review at UCLA. Specifically, I am interested in how American Indian students make decisions about the kinds of cultural information they share in their personal statements and how, if at all, they account for readers’ perspective when crafting personal statements. In addition, I explore the perspective taking and decision-making processes of admissions staff when reviewing American Indian student applications. Using these different methods will provide two different perspectives and demonstrate if there is a gap of knowledge for students and staff. I have applied for approval from UCLA’s institutional review board and my application is currently pending approval.
Results
The overall goal is to contribute to the field of educational research. I want to broaden the conversations in Educational research around inclusiveness of American Indian students by using the American Indian student and admission staff experiences with the holistic review process as an in-depth study.

Author

• Renee White Eyes, University of California - Los Angeles