Gen-Z & College DEI Market Research

Colleges across the United States have been implementing DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives in recent years. At the same time, students on college campuses have been demanding action from their institutions’ administration to improve campus environments and administrative procedures to better serve students. In much of the university-led DEI efforts, college students are excluded from the conversation and are limited in their ability to participate in administrative decisions that could improve their campus culture and allow colleges to better serve students of color and other marginalized identities. At the same time, many students are unaware of what DEI is and how it could improve their higher education experience. These findings emerged from an environmental scan that provides context into how Gen-Z feels about college environments, their perceptions of DEI, and how to best reach Gen-Z students.

College Students’ Sense of Belonging
On college campuses, feelings of belonging among students are linked to higher rates of persistence and completion (Gopalan, 2020). Reaching first-year students is necessary to build trust, respect, and connection that is needed for them to feel included and supported on their campus (Pedler, 2022). According to the National Survey of Student Engagement‌, a ‘supportive environment’ and ‘perceived gains’ were top indicators of first-year students’ feelings of belonging, followed by ‘effective teaching practices’, ‘quality of interactions’, ‘learning strategies’, and ‘higher order learning’ (National Survey, 2022). Still important, but to a lesser extent, were ‘collaborative learning’, ‘discussions with diverse others’, and ‘student-faculty interactions’ (National Survey, 2022). This outlines how students’ attitudes toward their educational environment, as well as their interpersonal interactions and relationships, are factors in building inclusion and a sense of belonging on college campuses.

Students of color report, on average, lower feelings of belonging compared to their white counterparts. Among students on four-year campuses, underrepresented ethnic minority students and first-generation students report a lower sense of belonging compared to their white and continuing-generation peers (Johnson, 2021). At American University it was reported that 74.1% of all undergraduate enrolled students complete a four-year degree within a four-year time frame (O’Leary, 2022). Students of color have lower levels of completion with 66.5% of Black students and 68.6% of Hispanic students graduating within a four-year time frame (O’Leary, 2022). This is worth exploring further to identify if these patterns are related to AU students’ feelings of belonging and whether there are differences between student racial groups.

Generation Z and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Generation Z (Gen-Z), which includes those born between 1997 and 2012, generally places value on DEI in educational settings and the workplace. When asked about DEI in the workplace, 99% of 1400+ respondents reported that DEI in the workplace is important, with 87% responding that it is very important (Johnson, 2021). This demonstrates the value Gen-Z places on DEI in their school and workplaces in creating belonging in these spaces. It is also important to note that DEI can be understood in various ways. In a separate survey, when asked what diversity means, the top three responses from Gen-Z respondents included gender (45%), race (45%), and diversity of thought (39%). Still noted, but to a lesser extent, were inclusion (39%), faith/religion (21%), age (18%), skills (18%), and disability status (15%) (HeForShe, 2021). This outlines what Gen-Z perceives as constituting a diverse environment of people.

While Gen-Z generally places strong value on diversity, there are varying responses as to whether education and work spaces have actually managed to create equitable and inclusive environments. This divide is noted between white respondents and respondents of color with 42% of white Gen-Z respondents believing that the American workplace is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. In contrast, only 34% of respondents who identify as Latino or Hispanic, and 31% of those who identify as Black, believe that education and work places are diverse, equitable, and inclusive (Johnson, 2021). This mirrors the division in feelings of belonging, noted previously, that white students report compared to students of color on college campuses.

Gen-Z utilizes a variety of media types and platforms to learn about societal issues including DEI topics. According to a survey conducted by HeForShe, more than half (51%) of Gen-Z respondents noted Youtube as a platform they use to learn about key issues, followed by TV (49%) and newspapers (47%) (HeForShe, 2021). Social media platforms, though heavily trafficked, are somewhat less used by Gen-Z in learning about issues; this includes Instagram (46%), Facebook (42%), Twitter (33%), and Tiktok (23%) (HeForShe, 2021). Also worth noting is that Gen-Z college students’ media consumption has changed during the pandemic. Students reported a 60% increase in social media use since the beginning of the pandemic (Bayne, 2020). Students have also reported increased consumption of video streaming services, such as YouTube (41% increase), audio streaming through Apple and Spotify (40%), and TV and online streaming (39%) (Bayne, 2020). More students have also reported using media to inform themselves about “human rights, COVID-19, social activism, climate change, Indigenous rights, activist movements, veganism, fitness/health, and other relevant newsworthy content” (Bayne, 2020). Gen-Z students’ increased use of media, including streaming content and social media, creates an opportunity for those seeking to create and distribute media content on DEI topics.

College DEI Efforts and Student Collaboration
As colleges have been implementing DEI initiatives, students have noted a lack of outreach from administration to involve their students. In a survey of over 750 undergraduate students, 53% indicated they wanted to participate in DEI efforts on their campus (Clark, 2021). As campuses have moved to implement DEI plans, students have continued to push for more than “superficial levels of diversity and inclusion” and, instead, for the creation of tangible equity on campuses (Clark, 2021). Demands from students include the hiring and retention of underrepresented minority faculty (Jawaharlal, 2022), a reexamination of curricula, improved administrative processes, and intentional removal of dehumanizing behaviors, language, and ideologies on campuses (Clark, 2021). This outlines some of the common demands that students have for their campuses in creating more inclusive and equitable spaces.

One tactic that other campuses have implemented, that American University is exploring, is the use of student ambassadors on their campuses (Doshi, 2022). Seattle University has implemented a program in which student ambassadors play an integral role in creating DEI-related workshops, outreach, and programming (McLean Sloughter, 2022). This program was inspired by other universities that have also successfully included students in new ways, giving them creative liberties to implement their vision of DEI initiatives. Though just a pilot program, DEI student ambassadors shows promise in empowering students to be advocates for themselves within university administrative and faculty spaces (McLean Sloughter, 2022). Perhaps AU could utilize Seattle University’s, and other existing student-centered programs and initiatives, as models to construct its own student ambassador and leadership program.

Resources
‌American University. (2018). American University’s Plan for Inclusive Excellence.
https://www.american.edu/president/diversity/inclusive-excellence/upload/18-160-ie_pla
N.pdf

Bayne, S. (2020, December 9). How Higher Ed. Students’ Media Consumption has Changed
During the Pandemic. ED. https://edmarketing.agency/higher-education-student-media
-consumption-trends-2020/

Bowen, J. (2021). Why is it Important for Students to Feel a Sense of Belonging at School?
“Students Choose to be in Environments That Make Them Feel a Sense of Fit,” Says
Associate Professor DeLeon Gray. North Carolina State University: College of Education News. https://ced.ncsu.edu/news/2021/10/21/why-is-it-important-for-students
-to-feel-a-sense-of-belonging-at-school-students-choose-to-be-in-environments-that-make-them-feel-a-sense-of-fit-says-associate-professor-deleon-gra/

Clark, S. (2021). Why Students Want More from College Diversity Initiatives. Best
Colleges. https://www.bestcolleges.com/blog/student-diversity-intitiatives/

Doshi, P. & Merida, S. (2022) Inclusive Excellence Faculty Fellows Research
Project [Powerpoint Slides]. Inclusive Excellence Faculty. https://american.instructure
.com/courses/35651/pages/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-client-presentation-and-au-
plan?module_item_id=126703
Gopalan, M., & Brady, S. T. (2020). College Students’ Sense of Belonging: A National
Perspective. Educational Researcher, 49(2), 134–137. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189
X19897622

Handshake. (2021, October 12). Gender, Equity, and Gen Z. Handshake Network Trends.
https://joinhandshake.com/network-trends/gender-equity/
HeForShe. (2021). New Rules: How Gen Z is Changing the World of Work. https://www.heforshe.org/sites/default/files/2021-05/lewis-genz-report-final.pdf

Jawaharlal, M. (2022). Why DEI Initiatives are Likely to Fail. Inside Higher Ed.
https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2022/07/21/why-dei-initiatives-are-likely-fail-opinion

Johnson, J. (2021, July 12). What Companies Need To Know About Gen Z’s Diversity, Equity,
and Inclusion Expectations. Tallo. https://tallo.com/blog/gen-z-workplace-diversity
-equity-inclusion/

McLean Sloughter, J., Wynalda, B., & Miguel, A. (2022, February 20). DEI Student
Ambassadors Program. ASEE. https://peer.asee.org/dei-student-ambassadors-program
National Survey of Student Engagement. (2021). Sense of Belonging: Building a Sense of
Community for All. National Survey of Student Engagement.
https://nsse.indiana.edu/research/annual-results/belonging-story/index.html

O’Leary, B., & Perez, N. (2022). Student Outcomes: American University. The
Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/student-outcomes#id
=details_131159

Pedler, M. L., Willis, R., & Nieuwoudt, J. E. (2022). A Sense of Belonging at University:
Student Retention, Motivation and Enjoyment. Journal of Further and Higher Education,
46(3), 397–408. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877x.2021.1955844