Boosting Diversity In Higher Education

We need to make efforts to eliminate race-conscious admissions programs, while still achieving student diversity. These efforts have proven that race and class based affirmative action are not the only way to achieve diversity. This paper seeks to examine alternatives to affirmative action programs, while still achieving the goal of boosting diversity in higher education. In order to target Latino and black students to a university, schools need to admit more low-income students and outline a series of steps to reduce educational opportunity gaps. Focusing on income could result in more racial diversity than affirmative action because Latino and blacks are likely to be poor; it is an area where admission officers still have discretion and

It calls for colleges to reach out to local schools and nonprofits to identify low-income prospective students and invite them to experience college life. Once people have applied, colleges need to avoid making admissions decisions based on who can pay the full tuition and give aid based on need instead of merit, which tends to help wealthier students who had access to more opportunities that show up in higher test scores and extracurricular activities. Schools also need to reconsider admissions factors that disadvantage poor students since some may not have access to prep classes but can be capable of succeeding in higher education institutions and get rid of legacy

Adding to this burden, students of diverse backgrounds cannot afford the costs of education. Under Financial Aid, students can choose to do work study to pay for the expenses if attending college. However, some students do not apply to even get financial aid. There should be a program where student can attend college debt-free by working certain hours a week as the university chooses. The cost of education is not the only barrier since academic success is often difficult to achieve. Students need to know that there is a whole load of resources like tutoring, their professor office hours, discussion classes, and study groups to clarify misunderstood information and take advantage to reinforce the material need to succeed in the classroom. Achieving academic diversity is more than enrolling a “mass” of diverse students. It is a process that benefits not only diverse students, but their classmates since its foster an environment that can later be applied on their future