RIT is a university that celebrates diversity. RIT has a high LGBTQ+ population, and frequently emphasizes embracing cultural differences. Additionally, the presence of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf fosters connections between hearing and Deaf/Hard of Hearing students. But while attracting a diverse student body is one matter, ensuring they are equally supported is a whole different affair.

Student Perspectives on Advising

The University Advising Office at RIT surveys student satisfaction with advising at three points during their time at RIT — during a student’s first year, their second year and at the midpoint of their degree. If you average the last three years, 91.16% of first-year students were satisfied with their advising experiences, while 87.17% of second-year students and 83.6% of students at the midpoint of their degree were satisfied. This is a fairly high percentage, although it suggests that, on average, one out of every ten students was dissatisfied with their advising experience. It also implies that students become gradually more dissatisfied over the course of their college experience.

The Advising Office only gathers answers to this survey and does not ask for demographic information. When asked why, Lynne Mazadoorian, the Assistant Vice President for Undergraduate Student Success and Director of the University Advising Office, stated, “It’s meant to be a high-level snapshot of how we’re doing overall, and it wasn’t meant to get into the details of the different populations other than the three different survey groups.”

Graduation Rates and Racial Disparities

While advising experiences appear to be positive, it’s unclear whether these trends hold when the data is broken down by demographic category. NYU conducted a comprehensive study to explore how students benefited — or did not benefit — from advising. This study found that while students of color visited advising more than white students, they experienced fewer academic benefits than their white peers did. While RIT does not have statistics anywhere close to the scope of that study, the university does have some numbers that can be leveraged to analyze student outcomes.

Online statistics gathered by College Navigator indicate that there may be more to the story. Six-year graduation rate statistics for bachelor’s degrees underscore persistent racial inequalities. Over the last four years, white students have graduated at an average rate of 73.75%. Meanwhile, in the same time period, American Indian/Alaskan Native students graduated at 46%, Black students at 65.6%, Hispanic/Latino students at 67.5% and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander students at 66.7%. The only demographic with a higher rate than white students is Asian students at 74.25%. 

These statistics support the idea that better advising is necessary for students from marginalized cultural and racial backgrounds. Better yet, they suggest other support systems could be implemented to ensure equal opportunity. 

A major complication in analyzing this data is the large number of students categorized as  “Race/Ethnicity Unknown.” In some years, this group has comprised 50% or more of most minority student demographics, making it difficult to draw accurate conclusions about minority outcomes. Additionally, the Race/Ethnicity Unknown group’s six-year graduation rate dropped from 83% to 49% in the last year. This means that of the 217 students starting in 2018 who selected this option, 106 students graduated within six years. Ignoring the fact that this is an overall concerning trend, it also indicates that if unreported minority students comprise a large share of this group, the true six-year graduation rate for minority students could be significantly lower.

Overall Issues

RIT’s lack of publicly available data collection raises a clear concern: How can the university determine whether it is properly supporting its marginalized students without detailed, disaggregated data?

Furthermore, no data could be found that explored advising outcomes for disabled students, LGBTQIA+ students, Deaf and Hard of Hearing students or students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. For a university that claims to focus especially on accommodating disabled students, has a sizable portion of its student population as a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, is connected to the National Institute for the Deaf and awards high amounts of financial aid each year in an effort to make it easier for those from poorer economic backgrounds to access the education here, this raises questions. .

Moving forward, RIT has an opportunity to rethink the status quo by updating its data-gathering processes, researching how better data collection practices can be implemented, offering more transparency and exploring new ways to support different subgroups of the student body. For the sake of equity, the university should take meaningful steps to support the most disadvantaged and vulnerable members of the student population, ensuring all students have the resources they need to thrive.