In case you missed this year's Annual Workshop, we have a recap!
The Event
The Graduate College Annual Workshop is an opportunity for Directors of Graduate Study, Graduate Program Contacts, and Graduate Faculty to convene on important topics in graduate education. This year’s workshop took place on November 7, 2024, and focused on various aspects of holistic admissions. Alongside breakout sessions and presentations by Graduate College staff, the event highlighted Julia Kent, Vice President for Best Practices and Strategic Initiatives at the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), as the keynote speaker. Nearly 200 faculty and staff attended.
Key Takeaways
Why Holistic Admissions? Holistic admission is an approach to evaluating applications that considers an applicant's unique experiences and personal attributes alongside traditional metrics like GPA and GRE scores. This comprehensive review process looks at all aspects of an application, rather than relying on a single data point, such as GPA, to make admission decisions. Here are a few benefits;
Better Predictor Success: By considering a broader range of factors, holistic admissions can better predict an applicant's potential for success in the program.
Ensures Fair and Consistent Admissions: This approach ensures a fairer and more consistent evaluation process by reducing reliance on a single metric and considering multiple factors, which can help in mitigating biases and promoting equity.
Increases Access and Inclusion: Holistic admissions increase access to higher education for underrepresented and non-traditional students by evaluating a wider range of qualities and experiences.
Responds to Changing Demographics: As student demographics evolve, holistic admissions allow institutions to adapt their admissions processes to better meet the needs of a diverse applicant pool.
Fosters a Sense of Belonging: By valuing a wide range of experiences and attributes, holistic admissions help students feel more connected to their peers and motivated towards their academic progress. This sense of belonging is essential for student success and well-being.
Overall, holistic admissions support an inclusive and fair application review process, helping institutions identify the right applicants and effectively meet their program and institutional goals.
Implementing holistic admissions: Graduate admissions processes differ across programs and fields of study. The goal in implementing holistic admission is to find standardization in certain areas while acknowledging the appropriateness of varied processes depending on the needs of the program. Best practices in developing and implementing holistic review include:
- Collecting and using data to highlight equity gaps in applications, admissions, and enrollment
- Aligning criteria for admissions and funding decisions with program and institutional missions
- Using of personal statements to assess how applicants can contribute to the university's core values
- Developing rubrics and clear criteria to reduce bias in admissions decisions
- Providing materials and training to help faculty decision-makers avoid biases and develop awareness of equity issues
- Conducting program self-assessments to understand equity gaps and improve the student experience
- Using of climate surveys and other tools to gather data on the program environment
- Addressing the impact of anti-DEI legislation and the importance of leadership in communicating values and supporting DEI efforts
- Developing partnerships with organizations and schools to diversify the applicant pool through outreach and recruitment efforts
Beyond Admissions
"[I]t's really important to think not only about how we admit students, but how we take care of them after the admissions moment. What can we do to advance equity in graduate education throughout the entire student experience, so that when we do bring students in who may be from minoritized backgrounds, we provide the conditions in which they can thrive and complete and succeed?" says Kent.
Toolkits and Training
The Graduate College Admissions Review Toolkit: Our toolkit provides guidance and best practices to assist departments in conducting admissions reviews for graduate applicants and offers resources for implementing holistic admissions within legal constraints. We understand that departmental review procedures may vary based on discipline, degree level, program size, and other factors. Nevertheless, we hope that this toolkit will be valuable to departments as they strive to develop and implement fair and consistent graduate student admissions protocols. (The toolkit is available to faculty and staff using Net ID and password.)
Holistic Review Online Training Module: This training is mandatory for all graduate program admissions committee chairs (or their faculty designees). However, we highly recommend that all faculty and staff involved in the review of graduate applications complete this training. The training module is available in the Graduate College Admissions Review Toolkit.
Our Favorite Moments
Seeing so many of our colleagues and the lively conversations with panelists and guest speaker. Thank you to everyone who made it a wonderful and informative event.
