History
Launched in response to the 2003 United States Supreme Court decisions that addressed the lawfulness of the University of Michigan's race- and ethnicity-conscious admissions policies, the Access & Diversity Collaborative was formed to help higher education institutions develop and implement educationally sound and legally viable access and diversity enrollment management policies in light of relevant social science research; institutional experience and promising practices; and relevant federal and state laws. Through a combination of national seminars, regional trainings, manual and policy paper publications, and other organizational outreach, the Collaborative has established a model that is centrally aimed at achieving positive institutional impact — advancing the work of higher education leaders who are striving to enhance the learning experiences of their students and to better prepare them for life in the 21st century. The goals of the Collaborative are aligned with those of the College Board more broadly — including expanding the pipeline of college access for low-income, minority and other students who have been historically underserved.
The Collaborative model is premised upon the centrality of multidisciplinary educational policy development efforts to effective educational policies. The Collaborative has brought together legal, admission, financial aid, student affairs, academic, communications, research and other experts over time to share and debate perspectives, and to identify points of common ground that can inform effective institutional policy development. At the same time, it has spanned the range of higher educational institutional perspectives by bringing together officials grounded in undergraduate, graduate, medical, dental, business, law and other experiences to share ideas and make vital connections toward their shared educational goals. The Collaborative has endeavored to live up to its name — also periodically convening representatives of the 34 higher education institutions and systems, 10 national organizations and others to seek guidance and direction in this vital national effort. (See Sponsors and Supporters)
The Collaborative model is also driven by an action-oriented focus, addressing both the macro and micro substantive policy issues of relevance in the context of an overarching process framework geared toward key strategies and steps linked to advancing effective policy change. In all of its various phases and strands of work — from each of the seminar series to written publications — a constant point of focus has been on how to inform and promote practical strategies to guide institutional policy development.
2004-2006
In its first two years, from June 2004 through June 2006, the Collaborative focused on three discrete but related sets of issues. A series of seminars were held (and manuals were published) that addressed specific legal and policy issues associated with:
- financial aid and scholarships;
- recruitment, outreach and retention policies; and
- selection in the admission process in light of institutional mission-related goals.
During that time, among other outreach activities, 12 seminars that brought together nearly 800 higher education officials were held; and three legal and policy manuals were distributed to thousands of higher education leaders nationwide.
Evaluations from sponsors and participants in activities conducted during the first two years were consistently strong, affirming the void filled by the work of the Collaborative, and the need to continue and expand its first-stage efforts. Feedback from these stakeholders significantly shaped the evolution of the Collaborative and the design and implementation of national seminars, policy guidance, and other organizational outreach that followed, from 2006–2008.
2006-2008
The agendas of the 12 2006-08 national seminars reflected an expansion in substantive focus to include a broader array of practical strategies and models — including in most sessions an examination of key issues associated with the "court of public opinion" that have surfaced in the wake of state voter initiatives banning the consideration of race and ethnicity in public higher education enrollment management policies. In addition, the most recent From Theory to Action strand of seminars included for the first time two segments of invited panelists (representing various realms of expertise), who shared their institution-specific perspectives on theory and practice in light of the core teaching points addressed in the national seminars.
This period also saw the Collaborative expand its partnership with other organizations working to achieve similar goals. The Collaborative co-sponsored a Presidential Roundtable with the American Council on Education to expose institutional chief executives to the issues facing campus leadership in maintaining diversity on college and university campuses.
In addition, for the first time in its history, the Collaborative extended the reach of its policy guidance into the elementary and secondary setting. Working with the National School Boards Association, the Collaborative jointly published guidance for school district leaders intended to address the legal and policy implications of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2007 decision in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1.
The conference, "The Future of Diversity and Opportunity in Higher Education: A National Forum on Innovation and Collaboration," was jointly sponsored by the Center for Institutional and Social Change at Columbia Law School; Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Columbia University; and the College Board. This 2008 conference presented innovative initiatives and research designed to build the networks and collaborations crucial to expanding participation in higher education of underrepresented populations of students. The substance of segments of this conference amplified key points central to the Collaborative's policy guidance.
2009-Present
The work of the Collaborative continued to evolve throughout the course of 2009 with six seminars focusing on strands initially developed on basic legal impactions of the Michigan Supreme Court cases and more recent themes developed in later seminars. The option to attend the seminar that most suited attendees' needs was welcomed by participants and proved successful. In 2010 content focused on institutional mission-driven goals and the need for collaboration and consensus across critical campus and noncampus stakeholders, to achieve wider access and diversity goals in the broader societal context. Going forward, additional focus will be on a now well-recognized Collaborative feature — the delivery of collateral material of an immediately useful and practical utility.