Promoting Economic Diversity in Higher Education

Patrick Sutton

February 28, 2007

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Promoting diversity in higher education is not limited to racial identifiers, and since Pell funding has garnered so much media attention lately, economic diversity in higher education has become a hot topic as well. In both regards—economic and racial diversity—many argue that changing college admissions procedures to address these situations is nothing more than a “band-aid” approach; the underlying problem being access to more competitive k-12 schools. If the student has access to a better quality education, he or she will have more of an opportunity to rank competitively on entrance exams, in addition to being able to secure academic scholarships.

Diversity and Enrollment in Higher Education

Colleges and universities across the nation approach enrollment diversity in many different ways. Some schools actively seek to diversify their student body, while other schools maintain that academic excellence should be the most important factor when considering a student for admission.

Currently, the University System of Maryland Board of Regents is considering the role that diversity plays in higher education. Recently, at a forum on diversity in Maryland, many influential members of the state education system met to discuss how Maryland is dealing with diversity in higher education. Dan Mote, University of Maryland President, Brit Kirwan, university system chancellor, and others expressed concern regarding diversity in the state of Maryland: