College of Nursing wins prestigious award for its commitment to diversity and inclusion
UC College of Nursing’s efforts to recruit, retain and graduate nurses who reflect the broader U.S. population have been nationally recognized for a 10th consecutive year.
The college received the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, reinforcing the sustained success of the college’s community partnerships, holistic admissions practices, student support programs and faculty and staff engagement initiatives.
"We continue to prioritize preparing nurse leaders who are not only ready to navigate the complexities of our health care system, but are also committed to serving diverse populations,” says Alicia Ribar, PhD, RN, dean of the UC College of Nursing. “Our focus is on advancing health equity, bridging gaps in care and fostering a more inclusive and diverse health care workforce."
Research shows increased diversity and cultural sensitivity in the health care workforce helps improve outcomes for people from historically marginalized groups, who are at a disproportionate risk of being uninsured, lacking access to care and suffering worse outcomes from preventable and treatable conditions.
For several years, the college has adopted holistic admissions strategies that incorporate personal student characteristics and attributes to augment grade point average for admissions decisions. The process values intellect, life experiences, motivation and character, which exemplify the core values of the college, and selects candidates using broad-based admission criteria to create a diverse student body. For the last eight years, the college has added social/behavioral interviews to assess noncognitive attributes important for professional success to its admissions’ strategies.
In 2024, about a third of applicants accepted to the four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing program under the holistic admissions review process would not have received an offer based solely on quantitative data. To ensure our students succeed, the college strives to cultivate a sense of inclusion and belonging in key areas:
- Access: Increasing awareness of opportunities to enroll at UC, to belong academically and socially, and to afford it financially.
- Attention: Creating connections and interest, providing individuals attention, and fostering growth and belongingness once a student is admitted.
- Retention & graduation: Offering academic, emotional, social and financial support to ensure a seamless path to graduation.
- Post-graduation: Educating nurses that join the workplace ready to have an impact and appreciate the value UC added to our professional lives.
The college’s initiatives also extend to faculty and staff and aims at promoting cultural sensitivity and throughout the curriculum and increasing scholarship opportunities related to diversity, cultural sensitivity and health equity.
INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine is the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. As a recipient of the annual Health Professions HEED Award, the College of Nursing will be featured in the annual HEED Award issue.
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