Innovative Higher Education Program Increased Student Diversity, Created Lasting Change at Colleges Large & Small

8/16/2002

From: Gretchen Wright for the American Sociological Association, 202-371-1999

CHICAGO, Aug. 16 -- A unique, multi-faceted program developed and spearheaded by the American Sociological Association (ASA) successfully addressed racial disparities and encouraged more people of all races and ethnicities to benefit from higher education, according to a new report on the Minority Opportunities through School Transformation (MOST) program. The report was released at the ASA's Annual Meeting in Chicago today.

Promoting Diversity and Excellence in Higher Education through Department Change details the lessons learned from the integration of the MOST program into the sociology departments of 11 institutions of higher learning. The ASA conceived the program with the intention of finding ways to alter "business as usual" practices at colleges and universities. The data demonstrate that the MOST program significantly increased diversity among students and faculty and transformed the curriculum and climate in sociology departments at participating institutions. ASA will work to encourage other departments at other colleges and universities around the country to learn from MOST and utilize various elements of the program.

"MOST demonstrated that the academic department can be an instrument of systemic, institutional change," said Felice Levine, former Executive Officer of ASA, who was the key architect of the MOST program. "With guidance and ongoing strategic support, sociology departments demonstrated the capacity to change the curriculum, recast the academic climate, make mentoring more available and use it strategically to promote diversity, and conduct their own recruitment and training. We considered departments to be the strategic location of change in higher education, and the project's results bear us out."

The results of the MOST program were dramatic:

-- At the outset of MOST, one quarter of the courses dealt with diversity compared with more than 50 percent by 2000-01.

-- The percentage of graduating minority majors nearly doubled over the course of the program. At the outset of MOST, 18 percent of graduating majors at the participating departments were minorities. By the end of the 2000-2001 academic year, 33 percent of graduating majors were minorities.

-- MOST succeeded in encouraging minority students to move on to graduate study. Several institutions experienced striking improvements in this area as a result of MOST. One institution, Augusta State University (ASU), reported that in the several years before MOST no sociology majors had gone on to graduate study in sociology, but that as a result of MOST, 13 ASU graduates are now enrolled in sociology graduate programs; six are students of color. Southwestern University had a similar experience, tripling the percentage of undergraduates who went on to sociology graduate study.

-- Departments reported similar results with respect to minorities on the faculty. In 1993-94, departments overall reported 22 percent of their faculties to be minority, but, by 2000-01, the proportion increased to almost 30 percent.

"The MOST program is an invention whose time has come," Levine emphasized, "by making excellence and inclusiveness the 'day-to-day' job of academic departments. It is impressive and gratifying that MOST succeeded at all institutions-large and small, public and private, with or without Ph.D.-conferring programs, majority minority or majority white. Its success demonstrates that deliberate change, aimed at the department level in institutions of higher learning, enhances the education of students of color and of all students. The program's lessons are relevant to all departments, to faculties in other fields and disciplines, to college and university administrators, and to the public and private foundation communities."

In June, ASA sponsored a national conference at which nationally recognized academic administrators, public and private foundation leaders, and experts in education and diversity examined the MOST program and addressed how to transport its lessons. Speakers included Nancy Cantor, Chancellor of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Teresa Sullivan, Vice President and Graduate Dean of the University of Texas, Austin; and Christopher Edley, Jr., Professor, Harvard Law School and Member, Civil Rights Commission. Each encouraged higher education institutions to embrace the MOST "message" of making systemic and intentional change to achieve excellence and inclusiveness. They urged departments and programs across colleges and universities to consider the MOST strategies and how best to adapt and use them.

The 11 participating MOST program institutions were selected on a competitive basis and represent the broad range of U.S. colleges and universities. They are: Augusta State University; University of California, Santa Barbara; Grinnell College; University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Pennsylvania State University; Pitzer College; University of Puerto Rico, Mayag 5/8ez; Southwestern University; Texas A&M University; University of Texas, El Paso; and William Paterson University. They made significant and lasting change by addressing five key elements of the educational process: curriculum; research; mentoring; climate; and pipeline.

Promoting Diversity and Excellence in Higher Education through Department Change also describes ten "best practices" drawn from departments' experiences with the MOST program:

1. Important curricular change can occur deliberatively, yet incrementally. 2. Traditionally informal processes, such as mentoring students, need not be left to chance. Departments can put in place systemic ways to ensure that mentoring reaches all students. 3. Student engagement is essential. 4. Department chairs, department committees, and other university administrators must be engaged in the process of reform in order to achieve lasting change. 5. Students need to see the connections between what they do in class, what they are studying, and what underlies this work. 6. Modeling of professional behavior draws students into the profession. 7. Minority recruitment requires intentional outreach and persistence. 8. Physical space and informal opportunities matter greatly to department climate. 9. Multi-year, long-term projects can make lasting changes in the culture and mindset of a department. 10. Scientific and scholarly societies are an important source of leadership and support. Public and private foundations also have a valuable role.

The American Sociological Association, founded in 1905, is a non-profit membership association dedicated to advancing sociology as a scientific discipline and profession serving the public good.