The University of Southern California has an “all-in approach” when it comes to creating diversity on campus.
Thomas McWhorter, dean of financial aid at USC, told Education Dive that the university takes its commitment to providing educational access and opportunity seriously for all types of students. For the education USC students want, he said, they need diverse classroom experiences to achieve it.
“Diversity is something that our students desire and, actually, something that we require in order to meet our mission,” McWhorter said.
USC has one of the highest percentages of Pell Grant recipients as a portion of its student body among elite universities, and it has achieved that designation through targeted investments that span three stages of a student’s life cycle: Early preparation and recruitment for prospective students, and on-campus support once those students matriculate.
Early preparation
USC offers a six-year college prep program for students starting in seventh grade. It includes a Saturday Academy that students attend weekly throughout junior high and high school, as well as early-morning classes, after school tutoring, workshops, enrichment sessions, field trips, and recreational opportunities. The low-income students who successfully complete the Neighborhood Academic Initiative program and get accepted to USC are also guaranteed a full ride.
McWhorter said that part of the success of the Neighborhood Academic Initiative is in the commitment required of parents. They must attend 80% of the near-monthly seminars offered over the six-year program, learning about child development, communication techniques, the college application process, and strategies for creating effective learning environments at home.
The Neighborhood Academic Initiative gets its financial support from USC as well as external grants and donations.
Recruitment
Beyond developing a qualified crop of students in its own mentorship program, USC has an army of recruitment officers that criss-cross the country pitching the university to low-income, first-generation, community college transfer, and ethnically diverse students. They visit 2,000 high schools in every state, also stopping at community colleges and community events to explain the merits of the institution as well as its commitment to need-blind admissions.
McWhorter calls USC’s investment in outreach activities “significant.” In some ways, he has watched a transformation of the recruitment and financial aid process in his 30 years at the institution, prompted by technological advancements.
“Technology has really helped,” McWhorter said, “but it isn’t a replacement for the personal interaction and the kind of quality interaction we do at USC.”
The university’s representatives still go to college and financial aid fairs in all corners of the U.S. They particularly target high-performing students at community colleges and crowded public schools — and their efforts have paid off. One of every 23 students at USC is a transfer student from a community college, and almost half of these transfers are first-generation college students.
On-campus support
It’s one thing to have a commitment to getting a diverse student body onto campus, McWhorter says, and it’s another thing entirely to give them the support and attention they need once they arrive. USC has created a range of services to ensure that students who make it into the institution succeed while they’re there. Fully 91% of Pell Grant recipients graduate within six years, a percentage that is on-par with their peers. Almost a quarter of USC’s students are from low-income households.
One key element of on-campus support is responding to the specific needs of the USC student body. A financial aid administrator realized that freshmen from low-income households were coming to school unprepared for the front-loaded costs of the semester system. They were running out of money before they could buy all of their textbooks. Now the university offers a special grant following a financial planning seminar.
Mentorships and partnerships with external organizations like TRiO and Questbridge augment counseling and other on-campus support to make sure students stay on track to graduate. A new partnership with SALT will give all students access to a comprehensive financial management tool.
Priorities
USC has the ability to invest in its Neighborhood Academic Initiative, in recruitment and financial aid staffing, and in on-campus support services to help students succeed. Not every institution has that luxury. But colleges with fewer financial resources can mine partnerships and forge philanthropic relationships to stretch their resources further.
When diversity on campus is the goal, sometimes creative solutions are the best ways to achieve it. And a three-pronged approach means support at every stage of a student’s journey through higher ed.
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