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Texas A&M works on diveristy

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Also by Sundeep Malladi:

In-Depth: What's affected by budget cuts? (September 1, 2005)
In-Depth: Rising past the numbers (November 10, 2005)

by Sundeep Malladi

Monday, January 31, 2005

Although universities struggle with the issue of increasing diversity on their campuses, Texas A&M University (TAMU) challenged itself to recreate its student population through several initiatives not driven by race-based-only practices.

TAMU’s President Robert Gates heads the university’s initiatives. The variety of initiatives Gates instated included using recruiters Regional Prospective Student Centers [RPSC] around the state, minority alumni recruiters, a Very Important Prospects [VIP] program and scholarships specifically set aside for first-generation students.

According to Mark Weichold, TAMU associate provost of undergraduate education and a member of TAMU’s Diversity Advisory Committee, the most effective of the initiatives has been the use of RPSCs to recruit students in major cities like Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.

“Our issue here is not so much admitting students, but getting students to apply,” Weichold said. “To help prospective students, [the RPSCs] have both admissions counselors as well as financial-aid counselors.”

The TAMU campus is composed of roughly 25 to 30 percent first-generation students, Weichold said.

TAMU’s VIP program has also had a serious effect on how students feel when encountering the university. According to Weichold, the VIP program drives students to the university from high schools with large minority populations.

“I think the real strength is bringing the students and their families on campus because once students and their families are here, they see a lot of support structures and can make sure students will succeed,” Weichold said.

Weichold said Gates has invested roughly $8 million in scholarships targeting, but not exclusive to, minorities, which also builds campus climate. Following this program, the diversity at the TAMU campus rose in September.

Despite this, Weichold said this is a long-term investment and it is yet to be seen how the programs will operate in the future.

“We’re starting to see the pipeline being filled to these various schools,” Weichold said. “We’re starting to hear from our own students how important it is that that everyone at Texas A&M is admitted of their own credentials.”

The University of Wisconsin System has recently come under fire from outside groups, most recently the Virginia-based Center for Equal Opportunity, for using race-based initiatives to attract and retain students of color. The systemwide Lawton Minority Undergraduate Retention Grant program and the Department of Public Instruction’s Minority Precollege Scholarship Program both carry the tags of remaining race-exclusive, trying to boost UW’s relatively low rate of minority students.

While TAMU has made significant strides in acquiring new methods of recruiting, UW has also started several projects to help increase diversity.

According to Durand, the Precollege Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence (PEOPLE) and Posse Foundation program have both been instrumental in helping recruit minority students to Madison in different ways.

For example, the PEOPLE program allows sixth-grade minority and disadvantaged students in the Madison Metropolitan School District to work with UW students, faculty and staff. Students who complete the program, finish an eight-week Bridge-to-College Program and are admitted to UW are eligible for a five-year tuition grant.

Durand noted the success of TAMU’s inclusive programs and added UW remains open to ideas to increase diversity in Madison.

“In recent years, the PEOPLE and Posse programs have been very successful,” Durand said. “[TAMU’s initiatives] are extremely interesting, and we’re going to discuss them [at UW].”