Minority Recruitment at a Private School

Dr. Beverley J. Pitts
This piece was adapted from an article written for the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education,
Volume 2, Issue 1, March 2009.

Summary

Private universities can have effective programs for recruiting minority students. In addition to a strong admissions team and president who are committed to diversity, targeted programs that reach smaller populations of minority students create opportunity to link those students to the college experience. Among the most successful at the University of Indianapolis is the Academy of Finance where high school students are taught by a college professor. In addition, partnerships with organizations like 100 Black Men, Black Expo and College Summit provide the platform to create personal friendships and mentorships that open the door to college entrance for many minority students.

Article

Smaller private colleges and universities are often perceived as environments where diversity is not as prevalent as in large, public institutions. At the University of Indianapolis, over the last fifteen years, we have set out to reverse that image and to increase our minority enrollment. We are a private, United Methodist–related institution of about 4,700 students, including 3,500 undergraduates. In 1990, our African American enrollment was about 5 percent. Today, our African American enrollment is 9.7 percent and our overall minority population, including our international students, is 17 percent. We are proud of the fact that we have an outstanding student body, with a retention rate exceeding 72% and diversity that enriches our campus and every student's experience.

Although we are pleased that our number of minority students continues to increase, we certainly are not satisfied with the status quo. Like every university, we are trying multiple strategies to continue to improve our minority enrollment.

How does a university president set an agenda that keeps everyone working on the goal of increasing minority enrollment? First and foremost, I believe that a president has to set a tone of honesty about diversity. If there is superficial and almost expected rhetoric from the president, the faculty and staff will just tuck those words away and go on about their business. If there is a sincere belief among the faculty and staff that the president has an absolute personal commitment to diversity, then there is opportunity to build support for more active recruitment of minority students.

The minority students themselves know what kind of campus environment exists for minority students and whether the president sees diversity as a priority, and perhaps they, more than any other group, can have a positive effect on recruitment of the next class of minority students.

The bully pulpit may help set the agenda, but it won't get the job done, and I have found that developing a culture where everyone is responsible for recruiting and everyone has a vested interest in diversity is much more likely to bring about results.

I depend on a wide range of leaders on our campus who not only reinforce our messages, but also seek out the specific opportunities for personal contacts and program initiatives for minority recruitment. Those persons are not only from the admissions side of the house; they also are coaches, career services leaders, faculty members from multiple disciplines, and students who have more than a strong belief in increasing diversity. There are many students from all backgrounds who have demonstrated their ability to recruit and nurture minority students and also create opportunities to become directly engaged with minority youth. These campus leaders can be the best personal ambassadors to middle school and high school minority students. Programs and contacts that come from faculty, staff, and students need cultivation, financial support, and recognition at the senior level of the institution. This past year, I created a President's Task Force on Diversity with the expressed task of finding ways to increase the effectiveness of existing individual or group efforts already under way.

Over the years, we have learned that, in addition to a strong admissions team and a good general recruitment plan, our most successful opportunities come from an aggressive series of direct programs, often done in conjunction with community partners, including schools.

We have developed several programs that link our faculty, staff, and students directly to minority populations. One of our most successful initiatives is directed by a business professor, Dr. Matt Will. Professor Will is a good example of the value of having faculty members who are as committed to minority recruitment as is the admissions staff. He is personally highly committed to providing opportunity for minority students. Professor Will believes that not enough is being done to compensate for the under–representation of minorities in the executive office suites of corporate America. His philosophy is very simple: start young and set expectations high. In 2001 Professor Will joined with a group of high school teachers and business leaders to create the Central Indiana Academy of Finance. The Academy of Finance sought to bring high school students from diverse backgrounds together for purposes of teaching them about advanced finance topics.

This year, more than 250 of these students attended an annual conference held on the campus of the University of Indianapolis. The university designed a semester–long college credit course in which high school students learn about stocks, bonds, and managing investment. Some 20 students from five area high schools enrolled in 2008–09. Through targeted use of university internal scholarships we have provided more than $50,000 in scholarships for Academy of Finance member students to continue their education with us after high school. Beyond the funding provided by the University of Indianapolis, the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) uses the Academy of Finance as a method of identifying prospective African American accounting students while they are still in high school, and develops approaches to help finance their continued education.

Professor Will also works with the financial literacy program offered by 100 Black Men of Indianapolis, which targets minority youth. By the fall of 2003, a group of eight students began attending Saturday sessions and learning important financial concepts, from the definition of mutual funds to the meaning of earnings forecasts. In December 2003, Professor Will took two of these students to the national investment competition sponsored by the 100 Black Men of America, Inc., and they brought the first–place trophy back to Indianapolis. Professor Will coached a second team to the national championship in 2007.

The Academy now includes guest speakers such as Derica Rice, Chief Financial Officer of Eli Lilly & Company, as well as other minority leaders in the financial community. These African American executives play an important role in helping the students visualize the dream of working in the corporate executive office suite.

Partnerships like that established with 100 Black Men provide added potential for reaching our target audiences. We have learned that one of the additional ways we can be most effective in developing programs that target minority students is through partnerships with local and national organizations.

One example is a partnership with the Center for Leadership Development, a local organization committed to providing leadership opportunities for minority high school students. As a partner, we are the site for the center's College Prep Program, which helps minority students prepare themselves for college. We also partner by providing scholarships for students who are successful in the program. We have learned that partnering with organizations in the community provides us with visibility in the minority communities and with opportunity to host minority students on our campus, thus giving them the opportunity to learn about our institution.

Another partnership that has provided very specific contacts with minority students is with College Summit, a national program. The University of Indianapolis is the local host for the College Summit summer campus workshop, which is the first step in a two–year, high school–based program that identifies student peer leaders and provides curriculum and year–long support in helping disadvantaged and minority students prepare themselves for college. By hosting the summer week–long workshop, we have the opportunity to perhaps be the first college exposure for those students, including the first opportunity to stay in a residence hall. The very personal engagement with students over a long period of time is the model for College Summit because it provides the opportunity to guide young people on the college path both academically and financially, thus keeping the door open for them.

We also partner with the Indiana Black Expo, including involvement with its major city–wide event, Summer Celebration. Our visibility there helps build awareness within the African American community about our campus and our commitment to opportunity for minority students. We are engaged in a number of other events in our community, including La Plaza's Fiesta Celebration, the premiere Latino cultural celebration in Indiana, and Project Stepping Stone, a one–week college preparatory program that helps Hispanic high school students successfully transition to college.

Our successes are a credit to our faculty, who are committed to work in the high schools and middle schools with minority students; our admissions staff, who build strong partnerships with minority community organizations; and our financial aid and scholarship administrators, who have been creative in using university resources to create financial support for minority students to attend a private school.

Over time, we have learned that smaller, more direct partnerships with organizations that are a part of the minority communities, or that have a clear mission to assist minority students in gaining academic success, provide the best platform for minority recruitment. Through these partnerships, we have built friendships with leaders in the minority communities and have helped them know us better and, thus, tell our story better to the families they encounter. These partnerships also provide us with much more long–term contact with minority students, giving us the ability to show them the path to college and to provide their families with the knowledge they need to structure the financial support for a private institution.

Perhaps all of these examples remind us of the most important factor in recruitment: the opportunity for every potential student to have a sustained, personal connection to someone at the university. Minority students do not always have the support, background, or family experience that makes college a familiar and accepted next step after high school. Partnerships and programs that bring smaller groups of minority students together with campus leaders over a sustained period of time can provide the opportunity to nurture and support these young people as they learn how they can be a part of the collegiate experience.

Our story is one that demonstrates that private school tuition costs do not have to be a barrier to minority enrollment, and that with aggressive and targeted programs and a commitment to get the job done, colleges and universities can recruit and retain a strong minority student body.