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Clark University
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives
Students

Action Item: Develop and enhance recruitment programs to attract and support diverse undergraduate students

Ongoing

The Action Item is part of Clark’s continuous work.

The Action Item is part of Clark’s continuous work.

The Admissions Office will develop and enhance recruitment programs to attract and support a wider pool of diverse undergraduate students.

Updates

Updates as of March 30, 2022

  • It will take time to assess the long-term impact of Clark’s various policy changes and DEI efforts around undergraduate recruitment, but as of now, we are seeing a record number of BIPOC and first-gen applications for admissions for the fall 2022 admission cycle. Among the Admissions Office’s recent efforts:
    • In this year’s undergraduate recruitment cycle, the Admissions team sought to further remove barriers that can inhibit access to applying to Clark. To that end, they continued the policy started during the pandemic of removing the application fee. They also sought to ease the financial aid application process by removing the College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile requirement for all families with adjusted gross incomes under $100,000.
    • The Access Team, a group of Clark students with a special interest in helping students from marginalized communities learn about Clark, was created in 2020 with three student leaders. Given the team’s growth to 14 students this year, the team’s full focus is on large-scale and individual outreach to admitted students who identify as BIPOC and first-generation. The goal is to foster authentic connections that raise early awareness of campus resources, affinity spaces, and cultural clubs.
    • Admissions has been developing partnerships with community-based organizations that serve the educational aspirations of traditionally underserved students across the country. For example, in April 2022, they will be funding the travel for a group of admitted students from the IDEA (Individuals Dedicated to Excellence and Achievement) Charter School network in Texas, thus allowing the students to attend one of Clark’s major admitted student events in person. Clark has been partnering with IDEA for almost three years now, and by harnessing the combined efforts, we are able to provide this important opportunity to these admitted students.