Criterion One: Mission and Integrity Core Component 1b: In its mission documents, the organization recognizes the diversity of its learners, other constituencies, and the greater society it serves.

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	UMKC Students Because building a diverse campus community means increasing the enrollment of underrepresented students, who are often from disadvantaged environments, we place a high priority on our recruitment and retention programs. Where ethnicity was known, the 2008-09 UMKC Student Profile reported that our on-campus minority population was 25 percent, up 1 percent from the previous year. A snapshot of UMKC’s retention rate between 2000 and 2007 shows that in 2000 we had an overall retention of 71 percent, with 2002 being the lowest (67 percent) during that seven-year period and 2007 being the highest (76 percent). In 2007, retention of minorities was 73 percent for African Americans, 79 percent for Hispanics, 88 percent for Asian/Pacific Islanders and 67 percent for Native Americans. Our international students were retained at a rate of 93 percent. Student Profile
Our outreach recruitment efforts for under-represented students include UMKC’s African American Youth Day and Hispanic Youth Day, which are popular with high school sophomores in Kansas City. These events draw students of color from the Kansas City metropolitan area on campus for college and career exploration. To meet the demand for these programs, UMKC now offers two African-American Youth Days and two Hispanic Youth Days, each involving between 12 to 15 UMKC counselors. We have been gratified by the numbers of potential students who attend the events. At both the Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 Youth Day events for African-American sophomores, 247 students attended. One hundred twenty-six Hispanic sophomores came to our fall semester Youth Day, a number that rose dramatically to 213 for the Spring 2009 event. As a result of these efforts, in the 2008-09 academic year, UMKC enrolled 72 students whose recruiting source code can be traced to one of the Youth Day programs. Of these, 51 students attended an African-American Youth Day and 21 attended a Hispanic Youth Day program.
Although recruitment is a major part of UMKC’s strategy to diversify the student body, retention is equally important. Creating and maintaining a campus environment and culture that promotes and nurtures all of our students is critical to our success. A 2006 racial climate audit has provided us clear opportunities for improvement. The audit, commissioned by UMKC, revealed several areas of concern: Academic advising; Student/faculty interactions; Perceived culture of low expectations for minority students; and Lack of cross-racial engagement or opportunities to learn from other cultures.
The Missouri Department of Higher Education reported that between 2002 and 2006, white student enrollment decreased 2 percent. During those same years, enrollment of African- American students increased by 5 percent and enrollment of Hispanic students increased by 57 percent. Looking ahead to the years 2007-2015, however, the National Center for Education Statistics predicts a 7.6 percent drop in Missouri high school graduates and a 9.2 percent drop in Kansas high school graduates. Planning Assumptions Umatters Blog
The racial climate audit was an important initiative that is guiding UMKC in developing specific actions to increase cultural and diversity awareness. For example, as part of our Universitywide recruitment plan, we have revised strategies to improve the recruitment of under-represented ethnic minority students (African American, Hispanic and Native American students), non-traditional students, international students, graduate and dual credit high school students. Racial Climate Survey
UMKC’s Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management [SAEM] oversees several departments and offices that directly affect our diversity, recruitment and retention efforts, and provides overall leadership for a comprehensive program of student services through 18 service units and 13 academic/student affairs liaisons.