The ability of all students — undergraduate, graduate, professional and international — to readily identify and wield the university’s resources to achieve their academic, personal and professional goals while at K-State.
Awareness
The K-State student body is diverse, with members representing the multitude of historically underrepresented and underserved populations. For K-State to continue to be a top higher education choice, we must be prepared to support all students in their pursuit of academic, personal and professional success.
In recent years, the graduation rate of members of historically underrepresented and underserved populations, first- and second-year retention rates and graduation rates have been the highest in our history. However, one student success metric requires immediate and ongoing attention: four-year graduation rates. Although retention of students after their first year is consistently above 80% for all races, significant discrepancies are observed in the four-year graduation rates of students of different races. Historically underrepresented and underserved populations, at best, are graduating at only half the rate of their white peers, with some racial groups graduating at rates as low as 10%. Unequal graduation rates among racial groups leads to unequal job placement post-graduation, a metric that must be remedied for an institution of our stature.
The successful leveraging of university resources is strengthened through social connections and campus climate. Accordingly, efforts to improve student success must coordinate with and optimize efforts to not only strengthen K-State’s diversity but also build a diversity- positive campus climate. For more information on the organizations that contribute to this area and the work they do, please visit Theme 5: Climate and Intergroup Relations.
Alignment
K-State’s land-grant distinction establishes its charge to facilitate students’ achievement through practical and relevant education. The university also strives for improvements in the retention, graduation and job placement of all its students from historically underrepresented and underserved backgrounds. These aims are also paramount to the K-State 2025 Visionary Plan, which aspires to create innovative academic and professional opportunities for students while achieving recognition as a Top 50 public research university.
Aim 2
Develop systems and practices to understand, value and embrace the cultural diversity of students for the achievement of their academic, personal and professional aims.
2.2 Develop a plan implementing the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Framework to address the historic and contemporary effects of systemic racism (Action Plan Step 8: For a More Inclusive K-State).
2.3 Close historical equity retention and graduation gaps across student populations, including by race and ethnicity, international, gender, Pell recipients, and first-generation students (Action Plan Step 4: For a More Inclusive K-State).
2.4 Create new strategies to demonstrate how we value the contributions of underserved, underrepresented and international students to our educational community.
2.5 Conduct a university climate survey every two years to understand how students are experiencing the university community.
2.6 Utilize institutional data on barriers to graduation in developing strategies to support achieving parity in graduation rates across all demographics.
2.7 Expand resources for student service units that assist students from historically underrepresented and underserved populations with retention and matriculation.
2.8 Create and utilize individualized academic paths to guide students from historically underrepresented and underserved populations to graduation.
2.9 Secure funds to support all students from marginalized populations with participation in high-impact educational programs and activities (e.g., education abroad, service learning, internship, undergraduate research, etc.).
2.10 Conduct a comprehensive assessment and needs analysis for programs and departments that work most closely with students from marginalized populations.
2.11 Enhance the cultural competencies of first-line service providers to foster the success of historically underrepresented, underserved and international students (Action Plan Step 11: For a More Inclusive K-State).
2.12 Create outreach and engagement efforts to identify historically underrepresented and underserved students who can excel at the graduate level.
2.13 Develop and enhance collaboration on programming that addresses the intersection of identities for undergraduate and graduate students.
2.1 Improvement in first-year and second-year retention rates, four-year and six-year graduation rates, and transfer and student retention and graduation rates across student populations, including by race and ethnicity, international, gender, Pell recipients and first-generation students.
2.2 Increases in the activity and participation of students from historically underrepresented and underserved populations at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
2.3 Increases in the job placement and graduate school attendance of students from historically underrepresented and underserved populations, at undergraduate and graduate levels.
2.4 Increases in the number of programs serving K-State students from historically underrepresented and underserved populations, at undergraduate and graduate levels.
2.5 Increases in the number of partnerships between K-State, its programs serving students of historically underrepresented and underserved populations, and the companies/organizations that are dedicated to those students’ professional growth.
2.6 Increases in participation of students from historically underrepresented and underserved populations in high-impact learning and education abroad opportunities.
2.7 Evidence of program-level assessment and action plans designed to improve departmental support of students from historically underrepresented and underserved populations.