The Importance of Diversity to the College Choice Process

• In Event: 45.044 - Increasing Racial Diversity in Higher Education: A Look at Attitudes and Impacts of College Admission Policies and Practices

Abstract

As legal and political scrutiny of race-based college admissions policies builds, higher education institutions are seeking ways to increase and maintain diversity on their campuses. This study explores the importance of eight types of diversity on the college choice process, and examines whether students who rate racial and ethnic diversity as important actually enroll in more racially and ethnically diverse intuitions. We find that students who rate racial and ethnic diversity as important are more likely to enroll in a more diverse institution, especially underrepresented minority students. Findings are of consequence for higher education scholars, policymakers, and administrators alike.

Authors

• Jerry Jameel Wilson, University of North Carolina

• James Samuel Carter, III, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill