By Kimberly Harbin
Madonna students and staff are being asked to comply with new regulations regarding reporting race and ethnicity.
The U.S. Department of Education and the National Center for Education Statistics has changed the way that higher learning institutions record and report diversity on campus. Madonna will be sending mass e-mails notifying the faculty and student body of the mandatory survey being available for completion.
Madonna also will post the actual survey on-line in an effort to reach every student and staff member and meet the end-of-next-term deadline.
However, those who don’t respond online may do so manually.
“Hopefully, everyone will comply so that we can do this smoothly,” said Sister Serafina, Director of Information Systems at Madonna.
There had always been a five-category system for race in the United States that included choices of White, Black, Asian, Native American and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.
People were encouraged to choose one race without any consideration for those who are bi-racial.
“In the past, everyone was pretty much lumped in all together,” said Serafina,
But with the new changes, staff and students are allowed to choose all races that may apply to them.
Instead of having to choose just one, students can place a check next to all categories that apply to them.
“I’m so glad that I can acknowledge both sides of my racial background,” said Calli Crawford, a senior at Madonna who is bi-racial. “I think this will also give a better understanding of our diversity to those who don’t attend classes here.”
One major purpose of the survey is to identify those who may be at risk for completing graduation requirements and may need assistance in the form of grants and scholarships.
Although race is not the determining factor for reception of the grants, it is taken into consideration, and all colleges must respond by the end of the fall term to avoid being in violation of the new rules.
Another purpose of the survey is to keep track of resident and nonresident aliens in the United States’ education system. A nonresident alien is defined as someone who is not a citizen or national of the U.S. and is in this country on a visa or temporary basis and does not have the right to remain indefinitely.
Furthermore, a resident alien is a non-citizen or national of the U.S. but has been admitted as a legal immigrant for the purpose of obtaining permanent residence. No individual information will be given to the government, only the total number of each race will be reported in order to ensure everyone’s right to privacy.