Impact of DEI and Sustainability on Higher Educational Institutes in America

This paper presents how Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and sustainability models impact higher education in the United States, how they contribute towards student outcomes, institutional activities and resilience, both in the short-term and in the long-term. Access to the data was provided by using secondary research methods and the sources were academic articles, policy reports, institutional case studies, and government publications. The results show that DEI investments have a positive effect on minority and first-generation student retention (6-10%), an increase in BIPOC faculty (3.1%), and more positive student perceptions of inclusion. Yet, issues like the growth of administration, tuition fees, and the insignificant gains in the number of graduates cast uncertainty on cost-effectiveness. Although adding value to the campus operations and curricula, sustainability efforts are rather unrelated to DEI, and the potential to integrate these two is not yet exploited. The findings highlight the need of aligning DEI with sustainability with quantifiable results, responsibility, and institutional missions in order to have enduring effects