RALEIGH (September 13, 2024) – People go where they feel welcome.
The question, after the UNC Board of Governors repealed the UNC System’s policy on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, is whether they will.
The Board of Governors received a report this week on efforts at each UNC System campus to eliminate DEI offices since the Board ordered them to in May.
It showed that the 17 campuses eliminated 59 positions, “realigned” or transferred 131 positions, achieved $17.1 million in total savings, but “redirected” $16.3 million of those savings, often to offices focused on student success or student affairs.1
Andrew Tripp, the Board’s general counsel, said the reports show “significant efforts by each campus to re-emphasize student success, employee wellbeing and institutional neutrality.”
“Some will say that the campuses went too far. Some will say the campuses didn’t go far enough,” Tripp said.
At least eight universities closed their DEI offices; others renamed or reorganized them.
UNC-Chapel Hill closed its DEI office, eliminated 20 positions and reassigned 27 of them for a total of $5.4 million in savings that were “redirected.”2
NC State University eliminated eight positions and “realigned” 29, for a total of $4.9 million in redirected savings.3
THE BROADER QUESTION is what sort of message state legislators and the Board of Governors sent with a law that requires universities to maintain “institutional neutrality” and not weigh in on political or social issues of the day.
The Board of Governors acted to repeal the DEI policy after the U.S. Supreme Court ended consideration of race in college admissions last year in cases where UNC-Chapel Hill and Harvard University were the defendants.
If the latest enrollment figures are any indication, the signals aren’t positive.
Though one year of data doesn’t constitute a trend, data released by UNC-Chapel Hill last week revealed an incoming class of students that is whiter and more Asian than previous years and a decline in enrollment by Black and Hispanic students.
The percentage of White and Asian students increased from 88.5% to 89.6%, and the percentage of Black and Hispanic students decreased from 22.9% to 19%:
- White students increased slightly, from 63.7% to 63.8%.
- Asian student enrollment increased from 24.8% to 25.8%.
- Black student enrollment dropped from 10.5% to 7.8%.
- Hispanic students declined from 10.8% to 10.1%.
“It’s too soon to see trends with just one year of data,” Rachelle Feldman, UNC’s Vice Provost for Enrollment, told reporters.
“We are committed to following the new law. We are also committed to making sure students in all 100 counties from every population in our growing state feel encouraged to apply, have confidence in our affordability and know this is a place they feel welcome and can succeed.”
“Anyone, from any background, can earn their way here,” Feldman said.4
AT THE BOARD’S MEETING yesterday, UNC System President Peter Hans reported that contrary to national trends, enrollment in UNC institutions increased by 2.2% this year, to nearly 248,000 students, and by 3.5% since 2022.
Because birth rates fell during the Great Recession, “We have been preparing for a world with fewer young people, and few young people who see college as a path to success and economic security,” Hans said.
The UNC System has held tuition constant for eight years, simplified financial aid with the Next NC Scholarship for families that make less than $80,000, and made the transfer process simpler for community-college students, he said.
“That has not been glamorous work, but it will pay off for our students,” Hans said.
Still, board member Joel Ford asked Hans for reassurance during a committee meeting Wednesday that the UNC System will still recruit and retain minority students.
“It was clear to me, but I’m not sure it was clear to the public, that our institutions still have the ability to attract and retain minority students – that all of our institutions are making sure that everyone is welcome and we’re being inclusive,” Ford said.
Hans said the work will continue.
“That remains our obligation under federal law, state law, and our moral obligation as well,” he said.5
We’ll all have to keep an eye on what future data shows.
1 https://www.northcarolina.edu/wp-content/uploads/reports-and-documents/legal/equality-policy-statistics.pdf.
2 https://www.northcarolina.edu/wp-content/uploads/reports-and-documents/legal/equality-policy-certifications/unc-ch_equality-policy-certification_2024.pdf.
3 https://www.northcarolina.edu/wp-content/uploads/reports-and-documents/legal/equality-policy-certifications/ncsu_equality-policy-certification_2024.pdf.
4 https://www.wral.com/story/unc-s-incoming-class-is-less-diverse-in-first-year-after-scotus-struck-down-affirmative-action/21610309/.
5 https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article292184500.html.
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