TCU Diversity Issues

Academics are one of the most integral components of university life for TCU students. In particular, the experiences of students of color have changed dramatically from 1998 to 2009 as issues regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion found their way to the forefront of administrative policies regarding academics. With the new inclusion of programs like the Community Scholars and the Council of Diversity, the university attempted to rectify issues relating to the lack of diversity on campus with regard to the student body. Alongside the changes on the local level, statewide and nationwide policies regarding Affirmative Action, tuition rates of undocumented immigrants, and tuition deregulation impacted the experiences of students on the campus …show more content…
In 1989, the U.S. Department of Education created the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program which was a TRIO program governed by the Higher Education Act of 1965 designed to help disadvantaged groups succeed in higher educational areas (McElroy & Armesto, 1998, 373-375). In 1991, TCU joined this program named after astronaut Ronald McNair, who died in the Challenger explosion in 1986, and was granted $400,000 for the next three years to help serve marginalized communities from low-income and first-generation backgrounds alongside individuals from traditionally underrepresented fields to succeed in college and pursue advanced graduate degrees. During the first year of the program, the university was able to fund twenty students, ten of whom were freshmen and sophomores, and ten of whom were juniors and seniors (Silver, 1992; Weed, 1991). Alongside the McNair Program, TCU also joined the Upward Bound Program in 1970, which was created by the U.S. DOE, to serve academically and disadvantaged high school students in the area and encourage these individuals to attend school through tutoring, mentorship, and going to the TCU campus during the summer (“High school students aided by program,” …show more content…
In 2003, the United States Supreme Court reversed the Hopwood decision with their Grutter v. Bollinger decision where the court confirmed the constitutionality of the affirmative action admissions procedures at the University of Michigan Law School and subsequently legalized these policies nationwide (Hopwood v. Texas, 2022). As public universities such as the University of Texas-Austin started to use race as a factor in admissions in addition to the Top Ten Percent Plan, private universities like TCU continued to evaluate students on a case-by-case basis in order to attempt “to create an environment where a number of ‘voices’ can be heard (Yarina, 2003).” As Affirmative Action policies became legal again, these changes in admissions policies at both the public and private levels have significantly impacted the state of higher education in Texas. As the Top Ten Percent law continued to help underprivileged communities alongside Affirmative Action policies, admissions decisions would fall once again on universities to increase a low nonwhite student body and diversify the

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