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by App1990 » Tue Oct 27, 2015 3:46 pm
Diversity, or the lack thereof is an issue for Appalachian. Here are a few issues that we may not know.
Recruiters have complained about the lack of diversity in the interviewee pool, and a few have actually stopped visiting campus to conduct interviews. They choose to spend their time going to other campuses that offer a wider range of applicants. Businesses have realized diversity among employees is better for them, and we are at a disadvantage on that front.
Relatedly, we are not doing our students any favors by putting them in a learning environment that lacks diversity of people and thought, and any resemblance to the real world. Much of the learning comes from hearing different perspectives and working with different types of people, as well as interacting with different people outside of class. We do what we can with international opportunities, but that is not the same. And this is an issue related to providing 'education' which is what universities do, which is not the same as 'training'. So it could be an issue for our students applying for jobs. If all else is equal, it would be better to hire someone that has experience with different people and different cultures.
As someone pointed out, the argument about more qualified students not getting in is misplaced. That is an ironic comment on a fan board when that logic would also argue most of the athletes that we love displaced 'more qualified' students. (my niece was rejected and then got in after the coach recruiting her called admissions)
But the fact is that being qualified is not a simple ranking of scores. That simplistic and a monkey can make that call. The goal is to identify the kids that will succeed and even thrive at Appalachian, and importantly, contribute to improving the academic environment for everyone on campus. GPAs and scores are used as predictors, but they are not the only predictors and they are inherently biased predictors. Increasingly, universities are dropping the standardized test scores and making the effort to be more thoughtful in identifying the right kids (e.g., taking into account the many factors unrelated to 'being qualified' that affect those simple metrics).
It's a real challenge. Yes, Appalachian is more diverse than the surrounding counties and other issues mentioned in this thread are real, and for a long time, those have been excuses to not do much (or enough). It would show a level of incompetence to ignore it. Fortunately, the chancellor appears to be taking more meaningful actions on this issue and they are seeing some improvement. I know some people want to polarize everything, but this is simply a weakness that is being corrected.
Last edited by
App1990 on Tue Oct 27, 2015 4:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
