UW-Madison seniors reported having less interactions with students of backgrounds different from their own compared to seniors at peer institutions, according to the 2017 National Survey of Student Engagement.
This data comes after recent debates over race and inclusivity on campus following the release of the 2017 AAU campus climate survey.
About half of UW-Madison freshman and seniors reported in the NSSE results that they felt the university has a commitment to including diverse perspectives in the classroom. But according the the campus climate survey only 54 percent of students of color felt their comments were respected by fellow students in the classroom.
“What we see now with this data from the campus climate survey you know it’s the stuff anecdotally that we’ve known for years but we now have empirical evidence to support that,” UW-Madison Vice Provost and Chief Diversity Officer Patrick Sims said in an interview with The Daily Cardinal last fall.
Traditionally marginalized students were also more likely asked to represent the “point of view” of their community, with 45 percent of students of color compared to 21 percent of white students reporting being asked to represent their race during class discussions. Overall, only 28 percent of students reported that this was a positive experience.
UW-Madison seniors still reported fewer interactions with individuals of different backgrounds compared to seniors at peer institutions, with only 64 percent of UW-Madison seniors having those discussions either often or very often with individuals of different races compared to 73 percent of seniors at peer institutions.
Freshmen at both UW-Madison and peer institutions reported more interactions with individuals of different backgrounds than seniors. This is one way the university hopes to foster inclusivity, according to UW-Madison director of media relations, Meredith McGlone.
“One encouraging finding from the NSSE survey is that first-year students were more likely than students at other institutions to engage often in discussion with people of different backgrounds. We believe that is one important way to make our campus more welcoming to all,” McGlone said.
According to Sims the campus climate survey also indicates white students are eager to engage in conversations about diversity and inclusivity.
“We also have empirical evidence to support that majority students, all of our students really want to engage diversity,” Sims said.
Ninety-one percent of UW-Madison students reported they would come back to UW-Madison if given the chance to re-do their college experience, compared to 85 percent at other universities.
“That's a wonderful testament to the quality of the educational experience our students are receiving,” McGlone said.
However, fewer students of color are attending UW-Madison, despite higher levels of admittance and students of color reported in the campus climate survey that they are more likely to consider leaving the university because of campus culture.
“We heard clearly through the recent campus climate survey that students of color and those from other traditionally under-represented groups report less positive experiences than majority students. We take that feedback very seriously,” McGlone said.
