Gains in lower-income enrollment have leveled off at American colleges and universities with the greatest resources

Complete report

 The American Talent Initiative (ATI) was formed in December 2016 to address a persistent issue—specifically, that the American colleges and universities with the greatest resources, and where students have the highest likelihood of graduating, have historically served far too few young people from low- and middle-income backgrounds. The American Talent Initiative has a goal to enroll an additional 50,000 low- and middle-income students at these institutions by the year 2025. ATI is on track to meet its goal. Between 2015–16, the year before the initiative started, and 2017–18, enrollment of low- and middleincome students increased by 20,696 at the 320 ATI-eligible institutions with graduation rates at or above 70 percent. In just two years, the ATI-eligible colleges and universities progressed more than 40 percent of the way to the 50,000-by-2025 goal.

The 128 institutions that make up the ATI membership led the way, contributing disproportionately to the initiative’s early progress: ATI members account for 54 percent of all undergraduates enrolled at the ATI-eligible institutions, yet they were responsible for 62 percent of the progress toward the goal, accounting for an additional 12,837 low- and middle-income students. Yet continued progress toward the goal is not guaranteed. Indeed, enrollment data collected directly from 120 member institutions for the 2018–19 academic year indicate that gains in lower-income enrollment have leveled off.

While the majority of ATI members increased low- and middle-income student enrollment between 2017–18 and 2018–19, these increases were offset by declines at other institutions during the same period, resulting in a net, aggregate increase of just eight lower-income students. We do not yet have the data to determine whether the trend was similar for the remaining 200 ATI-eligible institutions. The strong progress at many institutions and the mixed results at others have yielded important insights about the institutional strategies that are most effective in maintaining and increasing socioeconomic diversity, as well as challenges that must be overcome.

This report explores these strategies and challenges in depth, focusing on four features common among the most successful institutions: 1. Committing to a comprehensive strategy at the leadership and board level, with the investment of resources to support it 2. Moving beyond traditional pipelines of incoming students 3. Prioritizing need-based aid 4. Ensuring that all students are set up to thrive on campus The recent data indicating that progress from the first two years of ATI has not been replicated in year three raises the urgency of ATI’s mission and the need to overcome the challenges that may stand in the way. The success of many of the member institutions in expanding opportunity points to a path forward.