Public research universities often aren\u2019t putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to student recruitment.<\/p>\n
A new report<\/a> from The Joyce Foundation found that most public research universities prioritize recruiting out-of-state students and were less likely to visit schools in low-income areas.<\/p>\n The report analyzed recruiting visits to local high schools made by admission staff at 15 public research universities in the US.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIn contrast to rhetoric from university leaders, our findings suggest strong socioeconomic and racial biases in the enrollment priorities of many public research universities. A small number of universities exhibit recruiting patterns broadly consistent with the historical mission of social mobility for meritorious state residents. However, most universities concentrated recruiting visits in wealthy, out-of-state communities while also privileging affluent schools in in-state visits,\u201d the report stated.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAlthough most universities did not exhibit racial bias in in-state visits, out-of-state visits consistently exhibited racial bias. Since most universities made many more out-of-state visits than in-state visits, overall recruiting visit patterns for most universities contribute to a student composition where low-income students of color feel increasingly isolated amongst growing cohorts of affluent, predominantly white, out-of-state students.\u201d<\/p>\n Twelve of the 15 made more out-of-state visits than in-state visits, with seven of those making more than twice as many out-of-state visits than in-state visits.<\/p>\n All schools in the study were more likely to visit out-of-state public high schools in high-income communities than in low-income communities, and most were also significantly less likely to visit out-of-state public high schools with a high percentage of students of color.<\/p>\n Most universities also visited a disproportionate number of out-of-state private schools.<\/p>\n Read the full report.<\/a><\/p>\n Ashley Dobson is NACAC\u2019s senior communications manager for content and social media. You can reach her at adobson@nacacnet.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Public research universities often aren\u2019t putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to student recruitment. A new report from The Joyce Foundation found that most public research universities prioritize recruiting out-of-state students and were less likely to visit schools in low-income areas. The report analyzed recruiting visits to local high schools made … Continue reading Report: Public Research Universities Prioritize Out-of-State, High-Income Recruitment<\/span>