As debate rages over whether US universities should embrace or scale back their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, a new study has found that a large proportion of US students reject force-feeding these initiatives.
Faculty research and data page College Rover Research of more than 1,000 American students and found that 45 percent of them opposed making DEI courses mandatory on college campuses.
College Rover founder Bill Townsend, who released the study in November, told Fox News Digital that these students oppose mandatory DEI programs because they “may fear forced participation, seeing it as limiting personal choice or ideological freedom.”
On the other hand, 54 percent of students believe that “these classes should be mandatory for all students,” according to his report.
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A new study found that nearly half of American students do not want DEI courses to be required at their schools.
The author noted a nearly 50-50 split among students on the topic, telling Fox, “Our survey results highlighted a nuanced and polarized view of DEI initiatives. . . . The consistency suggests entrenched perspectives influenced by a growing awareness of DEI’s benefits and ongoing skepticism about their execution.”
Although students are torn on DEI courses tenure at universitiesmost view DEI programs in a favorable light. “Seventy percent of students describe the overall impact of DEI programs as positive, saying these initiatives have increased their understanding of diversity and inclusion,” the report states.
It added that 79 percent of Democratic students agree that DEI programs are “positive,” while 64 percent of Republican students share the same opinion.
However, the study also found that only 47 percent of students would want to take classes that “focus on race, gender, or identity.” Only 30 percent of Republican students said they would like to take such courses, while 60 percent of Democratic students said they would.
Just 10 percent of students told College Rover they “feel uncomfortable discussing race, gender, or sexual identity in class,” “mostly due to fear of being judged or misunderstood,” the report added.
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The University of Michigan was one of many American colleges to cut some of its DEI programs this year. (Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
Townsend noted that students’ opinions are influenced by public anger toward DEI’s initiatives, but they appear to be more open to them than to the public.
“Student attitudes certainly reflect the passion seen in public discourse, but they seem a little more open to engagement and discussion,” he said, adding, “nearly half of students said DEI programs made them more open to different perspectives.”
“This openness can come from academic environments that encourage dialogue, although some remain hesitant for fear of judgment.”
When asked what prompted his study, Townsend mentioned “the growing public debate around diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in education and their tangible impact on students.”
“With so much polarization, we wanted to ground the conversation in data, asking: Are these programs encouraging inclusion or divisive?” he said.
Many major American universities have rolled backwards their DEI programs in 2024 in response to public backlash. Texas public universities have eliminated DEI offices, DEI-related positions, and mandatory DEI training. This included layoffs and restructuring at institutions such as the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M.
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University of Michigan phased out a set of DEI requirements in 2024, and the school said in a recent press release that it “will no longer require diversity statements as part of teacher hiring, promotion and tenure.”
One of the school’s faculty task forces recommended the university drop the requirement for the statements because of “their potential to limit freedom of expression and diversity of thought on campus.”
The University of North Carolina system diverted millions from DEI initiatives to public safety and ended DEI programs on campuses in May. In addition, three public universities in Iowa — the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa — began eliminating DEI offices and reallocating funds after the state law passed earlier this year.
Under Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ The Florida administration limited DEI at public universities in 2023.
Outside of the university sphere, President-elect Donald Trump promised in the 2024 campaign to eliminate DEI programs in the federal government, after years in which the US Department of Education spent more than $1 billion on DEI under the Biden administration.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
Townsend noted this nationwide opposition, telling Fox, “While 70% view these initiatives favorably, concerns about whether DEI promotes diversity of opinion are warranted. For DEI programs to be successful, they must balance encouraging inclusivity with a lack of ideological conformity.”
The researcher cautioned that scrapping the DEI program entirely could be an ill-advised move.
“As noted above, poorly trained but ill-equipped DEI teaching has undermined many positive aspects of DEI,” he said. “This could be a case of throwing the ‘baby out with the bathwater’.”
“Swings in society and social moods are always happening – it’s faster and more abrupt with the internet and social media (especially when it’s being manipulated),” he added.
Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.
