Blog 38/ Student Success in the Era of Post-DEI Hollowing
Seen. Aware. But silenced.
The Metrics Still Look Strong
On paper, everything appears to be holding.
Retention rates.
Enrollment numbers.
Persistence metrics.
Institutions continue to report stability—some even growth.
But beneath the surface, something else is unfolding.
Something quieter.
Something harder to measure.
Students are still showing up.
But they are not showing up in the same way.
The Incoming Class Will Tell the Truth
The next cohort of students—those entering college this fall—will be the first to fully experience a higher education landscape shaped by the rapid erosion of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
They are not arriving unaware.
They are watching.
They are listening.
They are discerning.
They are making decisions about where—and whether—they belong before they ever step foot on campus.
For some, the question is no longer:
“Which institution is the best fit?”
It is:
“Is this a place where I will be safe, seen, and supported?”
And for others:
“Is it even worth going?”
The incoming class is not arriving into the same institutional landscape. According to a September 2025 PBS NewsHour report, “A look at the future of DEI on college campuses as hundreds of programs disappear,” diversity, equity, and inclusion programs have already been eliminated or restructured at more than 400 colleges and universities nationwide.
This is not a theoretical shift—it is a structural one, unfolding in real time.
And this reality is being actively named across the field.
At the March 2026 National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) Annual Conference, this was not a side conversation—it was a central one. Practitioners were not asking if change was occurring. They were asking how to respond, how to protect students, and how to sustain belonging in an environment that is rapidly shifting.
As I presented my research on the Post-DEI Hollowing Phenomenon™, the resonance in the room made one thing clear: this was not a new realization—it was a shared recognition.
We Are Measuring What We Can See
Higher education has long relied on metrics to define student success:
Retention.
Persistence.
Graduation.
But these metrics were never designed to measure what is happening now.
Because what we are witnessing is not always departure.
It is disengagement.
Quiet Disengagement Is Not Failure—It Is Protection
Students are adapting.
They are:
self-monitoring in classrooms
limiting participation
avoiding spaces that once felt affirming
questioning whether their presence is fully welcomed
Not because they lack motivation.
But because they are navigating environments that feel increasingly uncertain.
In the era of Post-DEI Hollowing, students do not always leave.
They stay.
But they withdraw in ways institutions are not measuring.
Persistence Without Belonging Is Not Success
We must ask ourselves an uncomfortable question:
What does it mean to persist in a place that no longer feels like it was built for you?
Because persistence alone does not equal engagement.
And engagement is not guaranteed in environments where belonging has been weakened.
Students may graduate.
But at what cost?
Some Students Are Opting Out Before They Begin
This moment is not only impacting those already enrolled.
It is shaping those who are watching from the outside.
High school seniors—particularly those from historically marginalized communities—are making decisions in real time about whether higher education is a space they want to enter.
Not because they lack aspiration.
But because they are evaluating risk.
Risk of invisibility.
Risk of isolation.
Risk of navigating systems that feel less supportive than they once promised to be.
And for some, the answer is:
Not right now.
This Is a Student Success Issue
What we are witnessing is not just a DEI issue.
It is a student success issue.
Because when belonging is disrupted:
engagement declines
connection weakens
participation becomes conditional
And over time, this reshapes outcomes in ways that traditional metrics will not immediately capture.
A Necessary Shift in How We Define Success
If institutions continue to rely solely on retention and graduation rates, they will miss what is happening in real time.
We must expand how we define student success to include:
sense of belonging
cultural affirmation
psychological safety
authentic engagement
Because access without these elements is not equity.
And persistence without them is not success.
What Comes Next
The question is no longer whether Post-DEI Hollowing is occurring.
We are now witnessing its impact unfold across an entire generation of students.
The question is:
Will institutions adjust how they measure success… or continue measuring outcomes that no longer tell the full story?
Closing Sip
Students are still enrolling.
They are still attending.
They are still graduating.
But if they are doing so while quietly disengaging—
If they are navigating institutions that feel structurally present but experientially absent—
Then we must ask:
Are we witnessing success… or simply survival?
Reference
PBS NewsHour. (2025, September 20). A look at the future of DEI on college campuses as hundreds of programs disappear. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-look-at-the-future-of-dei-on-college-campuses-as-hundreds-of-programs-disappear
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