Abstract

The policies, priorities, and productivity of postsecondary admission offices are under a great deal of scrutiny. The current realities range from the pressures of tuition-driven institutions to deliver the majority of the university budget each fall, to more selective institutions wrestling with standards of which applicants to accept amid national scandals such as the well-publicized “varsity blues” (a conspiracy to influence admission decisions at several top U.S. universities that was uncovered in 2019). Historically, institutional guidelines related to the admission and rejection of applicants have maintained a tense relationship with issues related to homogeneity and diversity. Postsecondary institutions in the U.S. were originally developed for the purpose of educating wealthy White men and slowly expanded to include more groups, in principle, even if not manifested in actual enrollment composition. Notably, efforts to diversify have repeatedly put admissions issues back in the spotlight of the U.S. Supreme Court. This article identifies and describes the process of admission to institutions of Christian higher education as one of the earliest points of contact for creating a learning environment. By taking an ecosystem approach akin to the metaphor of the body in I Corinthians 12, we examine the benefits of diversity in a manner that recognizes the ways in which all parts of the body can benefit, when all parts of the system are considered and included. Conversely, monocultures can miss the benefits of diversity, a reality that should be considered given that the process of shaping a class is often under the purview of admission and recruitment personnel. Beyond the more typical concerns related to the budget or prestige of an institution, shaping the class is critical to the process of creating a diverse learning environment that also provides multifaceted opportunities for cultivating spiritual growth.

摘要

高等教育招生办公室的政策、优先事项和生产力受到严格审查。当前的现实范围从学费驱动的机构每年秋季交付大部分大学预算的压力，到更有选择性的机构在诸如广为人知的“大学蓝调”等国家丑闻中努力解决申请人接受的标准。 2019 年发现的影响美国几所顶尖大学录取决定的阴谋）。从历史上看，与录取和拒绝申请人相关的机构指南与同质性和多样性相关的问题保持着紧张的关系。美国的高等教育机构最初是为了教育富有的白人男性而发展的，后来慢慢扩展到包括更多的群体，原则上，即使没有体现在实际的招生构成上。值得注意的是，多元化的努力一再将招生问题重新置于美国最高法院的聚光灯下。本文确定并描述了进入基督教高等教育机构的过程，这是创建学习环境的最早接触点之一。通过采用类似于哥林多前书 12 中身体比喻的生态系统方法，我们以一种承认身体所有部分都可以受益的方式的方式来检查多样性的好处，当系统的所有部分都被考虑和包括在内时. 相反，单一文化可能会错过多样性的好处，鉴于塑造班级的过程通常在招生和招聘人员的职权范围内，因此应该考虑这一现实。