Q: Does your institution have an affirmative action policy around admissions? If so, what is it? And how did it come to be?
I'm particularly interested in examples from Canuckistan, as I understand that the US context is different, but any and all information is helpful, as are links that can be used to demonstrate the usefulness of such policies to colleagues who would not be out of place in the paleontology wing of the Museum of Natural History.
While my SLAC doesn't have an affirmative action policy, we have been pushed to serve a certain minority group more than we normally would so that our institution can get federal funding if classified as a "[insert minority group] serving institution." That seems the same as an affirmative action policy to me.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I wrote this before I read carefully that you only wanted Canadian examples. I am not in Canada, but I am in the country of California.
DeleteMy state banned affirmative action but I think they work around that. Need to keep up appearances and all.
ReplyDeleteI'm lucky enough to work for an institution that attracts an extremely diverse applicant pool, and hence student body, without having to put a great deal of effort into the matter. There are still some underrepresented groups, and some issues with making sure that all students have an equal chance to take full advantage of the opportunity (e.g. by not working so many hours they don't get as much as they might out of their classes), but the place is pleasantly free of a pattern that bothered me elsewhere: well-intentioned but overzealous attempts to increase diversity resulting in the worst-prepared students in the room nearly always belonging to one or two hitherto-underrepresented groups. I'm sure there are ways to overcome that problem with really good support systems (and I realize that the students may have benefited nonetheless), but I would point that out as a potential downside to ill-conceived and/or executed programs focused more on the appearances FML mentions than on getting students into situations that truly allow them, as well as their fellow-students and the institution, to benefit. I suspect that starting early, with mentoring programs that reach back into the high school or even elementary years, is one such approach.
ReplyDeleteA lot of places in Canuckistan have special admissions programs available for First Nations & Métis students. Check any university website for examples. I think that might be even more true out west, but I'm not sure.
ReplyDeleteFrom "out west" (or, as we call it, "the prairies," my Uni does have transitional programs, not only for FN but also for students whose grades don't make the cut-off. Based on anecdotal evidence, while the transitional programs are fully enrolled, they tend to be populated with rural FN students, from distant reserves and communities for whom Uni is a huuuuuuge leap, in both academic and cultural terms. Off-reserve students tend to enroll alongside their non-FN colleagues.
DeleteOff the top of my head, the closest thing to AA my Uni has is a small group of reserved places in the College of Medicine, which often go unfilled. (That's not to say that no FN students go into C of M; the seats are meant to serve as a fall-back for FN students who don't otherwise qualify for admission. I must confess to limited information on the matter.)
*"the prairies")
DeleteAlso, I don't think there's any "Legacy" points (e.g. your parents were alumni) that get you higher ranked in admissions.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that there's anything with Admissions for First Nations and Metis (not sure about that), but I'm pretty sure that all or a lot of tuition is paid for. Someone I know with Status got all his law school tuition paid for.
Eliminating any "Legacy" advantage would definitely be a step in the direction of eliminating class/race bias in admissions at many institutions (especially those that still explicitly discriminated 40-50 years ago). It would also result in a stronger student body; in the Ivy League, the only students I encountered who made me wonder how in the world they got in turned out to be legacies (or, much less frequently, athletes).
DeleteA lot depends on the band (and its administration). Studies suggest that many FN students prefer technical education over university.
DeleteWhat about students whose parents were from a poor family but somehow managed to get into a good university? Not all "Legacy" admissions are from historically privileged backgrounds. What exactly is wrong, anyway, with inheriting some kind of social advantage that does not even guarantee one's future social position but just improves one's chances of being in a place where opportunities are earned? I would actually suggest having hereditary degrees such as PhDI (I would stand for "Inherited"). They would confer a certain social respectability but would be distinguished from those earned for real. Holders of such degrees would have to earn their own if they want certain positions, such as teaching positions, or would get some sort of special mentorship allowing them to become qualified without having to suffer through the indignities of a regular university education.
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