By SHANNON WELLS
Marc Harding, vice provost for enrollment, and his colleagues shared some of the admissions-based initiatives Pitt has undertaken to reinforce the University’s inclusive mission. They include the following:
Holistic admissions review / College Greenlight: “We’re seeing more of these alternative kinds of admissions programs that many see as more equitable in admissions review,” Harding said. “These are programs in their infancy.”
Kellie Kane, associate vice provost for enrollment, said Pitt recruiters hit the road with a list of holistic factors in admissions that “support our mission to bring in as diverse of a class as possible. We did really clean up the language this year to make it very clear that race and ethnicity cannot be factors in that decision.
“But a lot of the underlying things that … align with our mission, we are still able to use those in our holistic factors,” she said. “We are just trying to use those (student) essays, the activities they’re involved in, and doing the best that we can to continue to enroll that diverse class.”
Recruiters, Kane added, use holistic guidelines to speak with students and families to say, ‘This is who a Pitt student is. These are the things we want to see in our applicants.”
Rolling admissions: Rather than the “early action/early admission” approach, Harding said Pitt’s approach is “unique for a selective college university … We may be one of the only AAU universities with rolling admissions.
“It’s far more equitable. You send your admissions application, and we get to reviewing it … There’s an iterative process, but again, it’s seen as far more equitable,” he added. “We make decisions as we go along all year long.”
Test optional: Also considered a more equitable practice, Harding said, a test-optional pilot project means students are currently not required to submit an ACT or SAT test score to be considered for admission. “We don’t have four or five years’ worth of data to understand retention and graduation,” he added, “but that is something that we will consider for the future.”
Kane said Pitt instead relies heavily on academic records, high school transcripts and the courses they took. “They take the challenge of curriculum that is allowed by their high school, so we do know all students are not in a high school that even offers Honors and (Advanced Placement courses),” she said, “so we absolutely look at what’s offered at their high school.”
Pell Grant focus: Started in 2019, the Pitt Success program has increased the number of applicants with federally funded Pell Grants among Black, Hispanic or Latino/Latina, and underrepresented minority students.
“The percentage of Pell Grants by race and ethnicity are disproportionate to underrepresented groups than to white students,” Harding said. Increasing the investment in (Pell Grants), however, has “paid off” in helping Pitt attract and enroll students, “through an equitable lens,” he added. “So it’s been a marvelous success in my opinion.”
Targeted outreach: Molly Swagler, assistant vice provost for enrollment, said while this has been done in the past, “we’ll lean more into what we can and cannot do,” in the wake of the Supreme Court case. “So what we can do is target that region,” i.e. geographical recruitment.
“We have 11 regionally based recruiters in key areas where we know there are audiences that we’re trying to reach,” she said, adding that by using marketing in specific ways, “We can make sure to create inclusive events on campus and be intentional about what the student experience is like for underserved students.”
Other campus resources include the Educational Outreach Center, Student Success Hub, the Affordability initiatives website and the Center for Financial Education and Wellness. The latter is a collaborative position with Vice Provost for Student Affairs Kenyon Bonner and the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid that Harding said is “hosting all kinds of educational offerings.”
Shannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
Have a story idea or news to share? Share it with the University Times.