The Impact of the New DEI Landscape on Minoritized Engineering Students’ Recruitment and Retention

Abstract Introduction: Recent years have seen an influx of legislation targeted at Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) practices at the university level be proposed and, in some cases, approved. Given that these laws are coming in conjunction with the Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action, it is possible and even likely that these changes may have a negative impact on minority representation in universities, especially in programs like engineering which have already had difficulty increasing their diversity. Objective: This paper intends to answer the question: How have new DEI laws impacted recruitment and retention efforts? Methods: This qualitative study will focus on how the new DEI landscape has impacted the ability of post-secondary institutions to recruit and retain engineering students. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted with staff and faculty formerly involved in DEI-focused engineering school entities within Texas public universities. Results: Results will highlight the themes that emerge from analysis of interviews conducted with Texas public university staff and faculty. Specifically, the interviews will be structured to determine answers to the following questions: (1) What changes have staff already experienced, and (2) what changes do they anticipate? Conclusion: Conclusions will be based on the findings from the interview analysis. Understanding the experiences and perceptions of former DEI staff in terms of systems change allows for a better understanding of the various mechanisms by which the changed legal landscape impacts the recruitment and retention of minoritized engineering students. This analysis will enable researchers and other relevant parties to better understand and respond to the challenges of the new legal landscape.