The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) and Peterson’s offer an award called the CGS/Peterson’s Award for Innovation in Promoting an Inclusive Graduate Community. The award is aimed at supporting efforts to increase diversity in graduate studies. Through its efforts, CGS and Peterson’s hope to spotlight programs that are successful in creating an inclusive learning environment for underrepresented student populations. This Web site is a place to share ideas about this topic — and to generate a dialogue among deans and admission officers at educational institutions nationwide who are engaged in efforts to promote inclusiveness.
Common Themes
Institutions engaged in efforts to improve inclusiveness in graduate studies share some common strategies. They include effective recruitment, support services for all aspects of the graduate school experience, methods to strengthen academic performance, infrastructure improvements to support research productivity, a focus on the degree-completion process, and efforts to build a strong foundation for postdoctoral professional success.
Programs that are succeeding with inclusiveness efforts demonstrate a strong and effective information exchange; they develop a dialogue between student prospect and institution and among institutions — particularly those who provide candidates for the applicant pool. Once enrolled, the communication continues, so that the student has every chance for success. Many are eager to share their experiences with other institutions to further the cause of inclusiveness in graduate studies.
Successful institutions also have metrics in place to measure their success; this is helpful in building a case for university decision makers. These metrics also create a sense of accomplishment for the faculty and staff members engaged in these significant efforts. All institutions aim at modifying processes already in place, strengthening them so that they create an engaging environment for the minority student. The net result is a better environment for all students, as the graduate population begins to resemble more closely the diversity each graduate will encounter after achieving his or her degree.
This Year’s Proposals
For the Peterson’s/CGS Award this year, fourteen schools submitted proposals. (Click here for list.) Many of these institutions have presented their new ideas in a context of ongoing work to promote diversity in higher education. Many efforts already exist — particularly at the undergraduate level — and in building on a foundation of success, many of the applicants for this year’s award are optimistic about the potential for a growth in underrepresented minorities in graduate-level work.
Many of the proposals identify key factors that militate against higher minority populations in graduate study, including anti-affirmative actions by individual states, a strong economy that lures scholars into the workforce, and the length of time it takes to pursue a graduate degree successfully. Perhaps the largest obstacle is the fact of underrepresentation itself and the feelings that a minority scholar may have about fitting in to a majority institution — finding few or no colleagues or mentors with similar backgrounds, concerns about being successful, the economic realities of life as a graduate student, and coming to grips with the expectations of the faculty for research and other performance criteria.
While many graduate students face most of these personal concerns, many of the schools submitting proposals indicate that these barriers are more pronounced among underrepresented student populations. Many of the proposals address these issues by constructing cohesive programs to pave the way for a successful completion of the graduate degree. They provide for a “safety net” comprising careful recruitment, pre-study summer programs, a comprehensive orientation period, and a special focus on research opportunities, mentoring efforts, and significant faculty involvement in the process. Many also address the need to “sell” the concept of graduate education and the opportunities that exist for a newly minted Ph.D. Many identify a need to move from a focus on diversity in undergraduate education to one on graduate education. “Inclusiveness is an integral part of the . . . mission, but little is done at the graduate level.”
Some applicants that are already minority-serving institutions are widening their appeal to members of other underserved minorities; others are majority institutions that are looking for better ways to target and attract minority candidates and provide a way to help them acclimate to a predominantly white environment. Several have faculty and staff members from underrepresented groups heavily involved in program development, mentoring, and advising. All are committed to making change and creating an environment of inclusiveness at all levels of their institutions.