Kris Lovekin, UC Riverside
UC Riverside Chancellor Kim Wilcox said he is glad to see the White House focus on metrics for higher education that will emphasize access and opportunity for all college-goers.
The White House has invited public comment about federal guidelines on how to measure excellence in higher education.
“So many measures have been backward looking. ‘How big is your endowment? How many students do you turn away?’ It doesn’t seem very good to me to be turning people away. It is much better to be embracing people,” he said. “Accessibility, not exclusivity, is important. Student success, not for the richest, but for everybody. Those are the things that we here at UCR are very, very good at.”
Graduation rates are approximately equal across students from all ethnic backgrounds at UC Riverside, and from all income levels. Access and financial aid at UC Riverside — as at all University of California campuses — means that low-income students have tremendous opportunity.
“We are changing the conversation,” Wilcox said. “Those are very positive steps for higher education. And, more importantly, for America.”
