Grant from The Kresge Foundation helps bring student perspectives to the forefront of admission

With student perspectives at the core, a National Association for College Admission Counseling ad hoc committee is providing new guidance for institutions to consider as they look to build equitable admission practices, particularly for historically underrepresented students. The guidance is available in the Centering Students in Equitable Admission Practices report.

With support from The Kresge Foundation, the Centering Students in the Creation of Equitable Admission Practices ad hoc committee identified ways institutions can prominently center student perspectives in decision making. In a new framework and model, the ad hoc committee recommends ways for institutions to gain student perspectives, such as with financial incentives, a broad representation of students, and third-party facilitators to remove potential bias from the conversation, as well as a model in which institutions should engage student perspectives throughout admission decision-making points. For instance, in determining travel, a diverse set of student perspectives should be considered in determining which territories to visit. Students from nontraditional backgrounds, such as those who went to alternative high schools, reported feeling excluded from the traditional experience of college representative visits to their schools.

Student committee members also said:

• They felt there are implicit or explicit biases in the way colleges are marketed.
• Knowing what they know now, they would approach the college application process differently a second time around.
• The college application process is not equitable.

With this feedback in mind, the framework includes guidance for incorporating student perspectives into admission decision-making points, including marketing efforts, identifying prospective students, the application process, admission criteria, financial aid, and more. It also includes recommendations for incorporating student perspectives into the governance, operation, and sustainability of institutions.

This report furthers a key recommendation in Toward a More Equitable Future for Postsecondary Access, a report jointly published in 2022 by NACAC and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. With support from The Kresge Foundation, NACAC was able to create the ad hoc committee to further explore and advise on the 2022 report’s key recommendation of incorporating more student perspectives.

The ad hoc committee was comprised of both professional and student members from across the country. Read the full Centering Students in Equitable Admission Practices report.