The University of Delaware, like other prominent public state universities, adheres to national best practices with respect to the recruitment of high potential graduate minority students. Here are some suggested guidelines:
It is permissible for departments to ask for and use ethnic identifiers in pre- and post- admission recruitment, as long as applicants are not required to answer questions about their race or ethnicity. Although admissions decisions cannot be based on race, ethnicity, gender, or other impermissible factors, departments may adopt targeted recruitment strategies as well as monitor and report on the effectiveness of specific recruitment efforts.
In admissions and in financial award decisions, departments are permitted to take race and ethnicity, among many other factors, into account as part of a considered strategy to foster diversity in the student body . File review should be holistic, and contribution to diversity assessed using criteria such as economic and educational disadvantages, cultural awareness, overcoming personal adversity, and leadership awards and achievement, in addition to race and ethnicity. This information may be solicited in the form of a personal essay on the application.
Departments and programs may consider tribal enrollment or affiliation as a plus factor in admission, financial aid, and outreach programs, assuming, once again, that review is holistic and takes into account the full array of pertinent diversity considerations.
Following admission, departments may take part in activities intended to increase directly the yield of specific targeted groups. Such efforts may include personal phone calls from graduate students, faculty, and administrators.
Departments may seek funding for underrepresented and minority students to make campus visits.