COMMITTEE DRAFT (Oct. 5, 1998) THE UNIVERSITY WILL FOSTER CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN ITS STUDENT BODY, FACULTY, AND STAFF AS WELL AS SENSITIVITY TO CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN ITS PROGRAMS, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. (THEME 3, UGA STRATEGIC PLAN, 1995).
In its 1995 Strategic Plan the University of Georgia committed to “increase the proportions of faculty, staff, and students from typically underrepresented populations.” To achieve this goal the University promised to:
. increase efforts to attract faculty of color, especially African
Americans, through systematic and comprehensive recruitment
planning
. increase recruitment efforts and enhance retention programs for
students from underrepresented populations, and
. increase the number of graduate and professional students from
underrepresented populations with particular attention to increasing
financial support programs.
Each year the President, through the University of Georgia’s Equal Opportunity Office, reports to the Chancellor on the University’s Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity initiatives and results. These annual reports mark the University’s progress (or lack of progress) toward meeting the goals and objectives set forth in the Strategic Plan.
It seems useful to focus separately, and chart separately, the four groups that together comprise the “faculty, staff and students” of the University. Acordingly, this report will address the goal of increasing the proportion of typically underrepresented persons in the following areas:
1. Undergraduate Students
2. Graduate and Professional Students
3. Faculty (tenure track)
4. Administrative, Professional and Classified Staff
Although some of the barriers to full participation and inclusion in the University apply to people in all these categories alike, there are relevant differences in, for example, the recruitment and retention of faculty and undergraduate students and classified staff that must be taken into account in developing a University-wide strategy aimed at increasing the number of persons of color and cultural diversity at UGa.
1. Undergraduate Students
The enrollment of minority students as undergraduates at UGa ought to reflect the racial and ethnic diversity that exists in this State. According to the most recent figures available for Fall 1998, there were minority undergraduates or % of the total undergraduate enrollment. Set out below is Table 1 that shows minority student enrollment for Undergraduates for Fall 1996 to Fall 1998.
[Table I attached]
Some of the factors that influence the aspirations of young people to attend college, their preparation for college, progress to graduation, and the like, such as socio-economic status and family stability, are almost beyond the reach of the University to affect. Nevertheless, several units of the University, notably the College of Agriculture, the Academic Assistance Office, and the Graduate School have commendably begun programs that hold the promise of reaching pre-college students while still in high school to encourage and influence their college aspirations. Cite, Ag School’s Summer of Excellence Apprentice Program, Academic Assistance Offices Upward Bound Program aimed at first-generation college students, and the Graduate School’s summer grants for high school teachers and students.] These programs have the potential to identify, make contact with and encourage minority students who might be expected to attend UGa. The University should encourage these efforts and seek to create and support other similar pre- college program initiatives aimed at high school students from groups underrepresented at UGa.
At the stage of college selection and recruitment, the committee has identified various barriers to a larger minority enrollment:
. The perceived absence of a strong, vibrant African-
American middle-class and professional community
in Athens makes the city appear less welcoming and
attractive as a place to attend school.
. The cost of attending college far from from home.
Even though HOPE scholarships help make UGa
more affordable, for many minority students attending
a local college at home or closer to home where it is
cheaper to live becomes the only realistic choice. The
availability of financial aid in the form of grants rather
than loans plays a critical and often decisive role in
college choice for many minority students.
. In some public high schools with a large concentration of
minority students, the absence of AP classes and Honor courses,
along with the lack of early advisement and four-years
of preparation for college, made admission to UGa
difficult for even the most able students in these schools
to achieve.
. Information about UGa and especially about available
scholarships and financial aid opportunities do not reach
students in all schools.
At the same time, UGa has definite advantages that can be utilized to increase minority enrollment. UGa offers a high-quality, comprehensive education at a price far less than attending comparable or “big name” schools out of state. Increasingly, minority students are finding their way at UGa, getting involved in all aspects of campus life, and realizing an “ownership” interest just like their non-minority counterparts.
The Office of Undergraduate Admissions has a well-conceived four-pronged program to attract and enroll minority students. (See Appendix A). This program focuses on (1) identification, (2) communication, (3) selection, and (4) transition and yield. These seem to be the logical levers for increasing minority undergraduate enrollment, although an increased emphasis on the Honors Program could help in convincing the most talented minority students to choose UGa over other selective colleges.
Data from the Fall 1998 New Undergraduate Student Enrollment Report shows the number of minority students who have applied, been accepted and have enrolled as Freshmen at UGa for the past five years. (See Appendix B) For Fall 1998, for example, 2,528 minority applicants applied as freshman, of whom 1,323 (or 52.3%) were accepted. This acceptance rate (accepted to applied ratio) was somewhat lower than the all freshman aceptance rate of 66.5%. For African-American Freshman applicants, the acceptance rate was 595 out of 1440 students, or 41.3%.
The yield rate for minority freshman (the ratio of the number enrolled to number accepted) was 566 out of 1,323 (42.8%) as compared to 4, 280 out of 8,459 (50.6%) for all freshman. For African-American applicants, the yield rate was 264 out of 595, or 44.4%. Approximately, 13.2% of the incoming freshman were minority students (Asian, African-American, Hispanic, Native American or Multiracial); some 6% were African-American, a figure that has ranged as high as 12% in 1995 to 6% for 1997 and 1998.
The University does use race as one of several factors in making admission decisions and actively recruits minority students to apply and to select UGa through initiatives such as Georgia Preview Day, a special visitation day aimed as prospective minority students and their parents. Obviously, the only way to increase the number of minority students at UGa is to increase the number of minority students who apply to UGa, who are accepted, and who then enroll. The University should continue its efforts to “market” itself to prospective minority students and should expand its efforts to draw on the full University community of currently enrolled students, alumni, and faculty to convince minority students to select UGa.
To accomplish the goal of increasing the number of minority students enrolling at UGa will require using private funds to provide scholarship grants to cover costs of college beyond tuition and fees for high achieving students of color. At the University of Illinois, for example, Presidential Awards provide a $3,000 a year stipend for four years in addition to covering full tuition and fees for minority students with high scores on standardized tests and strong records in high school. About 500 Presidential Awards are given annually, and the enrollment of targeted new freshman has increased to 12% of the entering class. The University of Wisconsin System in its recently adopted Plan 2008: Educational Quality Through Racial and Ethnic Diversity (May 1998) has announced an intent to pursue funding for a program similar to the one at the University of Illinois. Many private colleges and universities compete to attract high achieving minority students with similar financial aid packages. If Georgia is to compete successfully for this State’s most talented minority students, funds to provide scholarship grants targeted at these underrepresented groups will be needed.
To increase the number of Georgia high school graduates of color who apply, are accepted, and who enroll at Georgia as undergraduates, the University should
(i) increase pre-college programming and encourage
collaborative efforts that build the educational
pipeline by reaching children and their parents
earlier in high school,
(i) continue and expand efforts to utilize currently
enrolled students, alumni and faculty to “market”
UGa to prospective minority students and their
parents, and
(iii) increase the amount of scholarship aid to highly
talented minority students who are needy to
make UGa truly an affordable college choice.
The University should adopt as a goal seeking to double the number of minority students enrolled as undergraduates between 1998 and 2005. While the efforts of the University to internationalize its programs of study and to enroll students from outside the United States are worthwhile and important, these efforts are no substitute for truly opening the doors of UGa to residents of Georgia of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.
2. Graduate and Professional Students
A. Graduate Students
Over the past nine years, while the total graduate enrollment increased by 14.1%, the enrollment of minority students in graduate programs increased by 135%. While these percentage increases show good progress, the absolute number of minority students in graduate programs remains low and that number is divided unevenly across disciplines within the University. Table 1 attached shows the Minority Student Enrollment in Graduate School from Fall 1996 to Fall 1998.
One limit on the number of minority students entering graduate school is the number of minority students earning baccalaureate degrees in some disciplines, especially the Natural Sciences. In an effort to remove this impediment the Graduate School has sought to increase the number of minority students “in the pipeline” to pursue graduate work in these areas by obtaining a Collaborative Program Grant from the Chancellor’s Office to enable minority undergraduates from three HBC’s in Georgia to spend an eight-week summer program at UGa to gain intensive research experience . Undergraduate juniors and seniors receive $3,000 to attend the eight- week summer program, and during the last three years more than 100 students participated in the program. The program also provides funding of $8,000 for up to six faculty members of HBC’s who do not have doctoral degrees to spend eight weeks participating in summer research. Follow-up reports on undergraduate students who have participated in the summer research program show that a significant number do go on to pursue graduate work, including graduate studies here at Georgia. This is a worthwhile initiative and was renewed in the spring of 1998 for another three years.
In a similar vein, the Graduate School obtained a grant from NIH to provide summer research experience in the sciences for up to twelve high school students and six teachers under the mentorship of UGa faculty. The purpose of this program is to kindle in these students while in high school a desire to study the sciences and to assist the high school teachers in incorporating their research experience in their teaching and to consider further graduate studies themselves.
The other constraint on increasing the participation of minority students in graduate studies is the need for greater financial support. The Dean of the Graduate School has reported that a top problem or obstacle to recruiting minority graduate students to Georgia is the lack of non-state funds to bring prospective minority candidates for campus visitations and to offer scholarships. Like undergraduates, graduate students may harbor a perception of Athens and the University as inhospitable to people of color and that could be overcome by a visit to campus, yet private funds are not adequate to carry out this simple recruitment tool.
On the advice of legal counsel, the Graduate School ended its program of setting aside graduate assistantships for minority students in FY 1998-99. The Graduate School’s University-wide assistantship awards for this year were based on a single competition. The criteria for awards were modified somewhat so that the applicant’s grade point average and test scores counted 60% and value-added factors (work experience, ethnic underrepresentation in the field, scholarly breadth, leadership skills, addition to multi-cultural diversity, etc.) counted 40%. The total number of minority students funded in this single competition using a broader set of evaluation criteria did not differ very much from the number funded previously.
To increase the number of persons of color in graduate school, the University should
(i) continue and increase its support for various collaborative
efforts with faculty and undergraduates at HBC is to provide
summer research grants to bring juniors and seniors to UGa
for intensive research work with Uga faculty. In this
connection, it should be noted that there needs to be some
tangible incentives for UGa faculty to contribute their
summer time to mentoring these students
(ii) provide non-state funds to cover the cost of visits to campus
by prospective minority graduate students and provide more
financial aid in the form of scholarships to these students in
the fields where there is a critical shortage of minority
participation.
B. Professional Students
[A section on increasing the number of minority students in the Professional Schools (School of Law, College of Veterinary Medicine, College of Pharmacy, School of Forest Resources, College of Journalism and Mass Communication, and School of Social Work will be added later].
3. Faculty
The University should continue its efforts to increase the number of tenure-track faculty who are persons of color. Table 2 attached shows the number of minority faculty at Georgia from 1992 to 1996. [*This data is being updated to bring it up through Fall 1998]. For the last two years for which data is currently available the percentage of minority faculty has hovered at around 10%.
To increase the number of tenure-track faculty at Georgia who are persons of color, the University should
(i) continue to monitor institutional progress through Affirmative
Action/ Equal Employment Opportunity reporting and pay
special attention to replacement appointments for vacant positions
in fields and departments where persons of color are underrepre-
sented.
(ii) continue to monitor promotion and tenure rates for minority
faculty
(iii) call on Vice Presidential and decanal leadership to insure
supportive environments within schools and colleges to
assist minority faculty in launching their research agendas
(iv) mentor graduate and professional students of color as a way
of sparking their interest in aspiring for faculty positions at
this and other schools and colleges
4. Administrative, Professional and Classified Staff
Table 2 also reports the number of minorities employed in various job categories as part of the full-time workforce for the years 1992 to 1996. [*This data will be updated through Fall 1998]. This information shows that the number of minorities employed in the Executive/Administrative/Managerial category and the categories of Professional Non-Faculty, Secretarial/Clerical, Technical/
Paraprofessional, Crafts is relatively low.
The University should seek to increase the number of minority employees in these job categories so that they are represented in the UGa workforce in proportion to their current availability in the relevant job pools. To accomplish this goal, the University should:
(i) continue to monitor institutional progress through annual
Afirmative Action/Equal Employment Oportunity reporting.
In particular, the University should continue to flag positions
where minority employees are under-utilized to triggr special
efforts to identify and recruit minority employees for these
postitions
(ii) encourage professional development and leadership/
management training by instituting where feasible career
tracks for entry level administrative and management
position to help present employees “grow” into
more senior administrative positions.
(iii) regularly seek information from staff members on ways
to improve the climate on campus and to gain feedback
on how to improve retentions and advancement. Exit surveys with
staff members who leave the University might be instituted uniformly.
END OF DRAFT
