Filed Under > Quoted & Noted
Tom Rock Weighs in on Socio-Economic Status as an Admissions Consideration
In an article in Inside Higher Education on the issue of expanding the definition of "diversity" in graduate admissions decision to include socio-economic status, Tom Rock, TC's Interim Executive Director of Enrollment Services, said he suspects that the criterion is not widely used in programs in most academic disciplines.
In an article in Inside Higher Education on the issue of expanding the definition of "diversity" in graduate admissions decision to include socio-economic status, Tom Rock, TC's Interim Executive Director of Enrollment Services, said he suspects that the criterion is not widely used in programs in most academic disciplines. The article said that Rock, who is the immediate past president of the National Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals, believes that most graduate applications follow federal race and ethnicity categories only, though he has heard some discussion in the graduate admissions world of adding a “white Appalachian” category.
"Rock said that... one concern is whether asking questions might leave some applicants nervous that their lack of money would count against them in admissions.
"Still, Rock said that the political science study pointed to an important issue. 'Personally, I think we have to look at all categories. Many schools — Teachers College included — are discussing how to include socioeconomic status,' he said."
This article appeared in the July 9 edition of Inside Higher Education http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/07/09/class
Published Thursday, Jul. 10, 2008