Most Students Would Consider Transferring if Their College Abolished DEI Initiatives: Survey

This report is part of BestColleges’ 2023 College Choice and Admissions Survey.

College students are speaking out about the elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives on campus in a new BestColleges survey.

Among the 1,000 currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students we surveyed, more than half (55%) say they would consider transferring if their college were to abolish DEI initiatives. Fewer than 1 in 5 students (17%) say they would not.

Further, the majority of surveyed students (59%) say that if a college they were considering had abolished DEI initiatives, it would have impacted their decision to enroll at all.

Hispanic and Latino/a students (60%) and Black students (59%) are most likely to say they would consider transferring compared to white students (52%) and students of other races (54%).

LGBTQ+ students are also notably more likely than cisgender, straight students to say that if the college they were considering had abolished DEI initiatives, it would have impacted their decision to enroll (69% vs. 56%).

Millennial students are more likely than Gen Z students to say they would consider transferring (59% vs. 53%) and to say that abolishment of DEI initiatives would have impacted their decision to enroll (63% vs. 57%).

Over the last year, institutions across the country have increasingly removed DEI programming and offices to abide by anti-DEI legislation in their states.

Many students have protested these moves, even expressing in a March 2023 BestColleges survey that they would not support legislative efforts to limit the promotion of DEI at public institutions.

Though some colleges have fought back against these efforts by searching for legal ways to continue promoting DEI on campuses, bans on DEI initiatives persist.

Though the majority of students want DEI initiatives on their college campuses, they express some contradictory opinions on the role of diversity and race in admissions decisions.

Nearly half of all surveyed students (49%) say that race or ethnicity should be the least important factor for colleges to consider when it comes to selecting an applicant for admission.

But at least 2 in 5 students also say that affirmative action in college admissions is fair (40%) and should be allowed (44%).

Further, an even larger percentage say that colleges should attempt to enroll diverse student populations, even with a ban on affirmative action (58%). Only about one-tenth of students (12%) disagree, while just under one-third (31%) are neutral.

And among students who say affirmative action is fair and should be allowed, more than 1 in 3 (35%) still agree that race and ethnicity should be the least important factor for colleges to consider when it comes to selecting an applicant.

Across all demographic groups, millennial students are most likely to say that affirmative action is fair (50%) and should be allowed (51%).

LGBTQ+ students are most likely to say that colleges should attempt to enroll diverse student populations, even with a ban on affirmative action (64%). By comparison, 56% of cisgender, straight students say the same.

Perhaps surprisingly, men are substantially more likely than women to agree that affirmative action is fair (47% vs. 34%) and should be allowed (52% vs. 37%). Even more surprisingly, white women — who have historically benefitted the most from affirmative action in higher education — are least likely of all women to agree that is fair (31%) or should be allowed (33%).

And across all racial/ethnic groups, Black students are most likely to say that affirmative action is fair (48%) and should be allowed (50%). Hispanic and Latino/a students, however, are most likely to say that colleges should attempt to enroll diverse student populations, even with a ban on affirmative action (62%).

While it is clear that students are continuing to support DEI initiatives and diversity on their campuses, when it comes to admission practices, they are less clear about what role they think diversity should play.

This survey was conducted from Sept. 29-Oct. 5, 2023, and was fielded by Pure Spectrum. Survey participants included 1,000 respondents nationwide who were currently enrolled in an on-campus, online, or hybrid undergraduate or graduate degree program. Respondents were 17-49 years of age, with the majority (95%) ages 18-38, and currently pursuing an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, or professional degree. The respondents for the survey were screened by various quality checks, including systems like Relevant ID, and responses were manually reviewed to ensure consistency and accuracy.

Note: In this survey, students of other races include students who selected Asian, Asian American, or Asian Indian; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; Middle Eastern or Northern African; Native American, American Indian, or Alaska Native; and those who selected identity/identities not listed.