Diversity Delay

This time we can’t blame the delay on the U.Va. consultants, because it was Mother Nature who caused a cancellation of the diversity study focus group scheduled for Monday, March 2.

Naturally, the interviews were rescheduled for a later date. Unfortunately that later date is next Monday, March 16. And, MLWGS acceptance/rejection letters are supposed to arrive in more than nine-hundred mailboxes on or before that date.

This means that when prospective students sit down with Dr. Moon and Dr. Brighton next week to discuss their experiences with the MLWGS admissions process – these eighth graders will already know if they have been accepted, waitlisted, or rejected.

How can these students or their families provide honest, unbiased answers to the consultant’s questions? From a statistical perspective, these surveys will surely lack validity. If only the diversity consultants had started a little earlier – or even if they had re-scheduled the interviews for this past Monday, March 9.

One mistake, even if it is a big one, is understandable. Let’s just hope the rest of the study proves more substantive.