The U.S. News & World has listed UNLV as a top school with one of the most diverse campuses for undergraduate students in the nation.
UNLV ranked in a four-way tie as the most diverse educational institution in the nation along with the University of Hawaii-Hilo, Stanford and the University of San Francisco. This year, the university has a high percentage of LatinX students, currently at 32 percent.
The report indicated that more than 65 percent of UNLV undergraduates identify as part of a racial or ethnic minority.
“At UNLV, our incredible student diversity is one of our biggest assets as it brings multiple perspectives to classroom and policy discussions, research labs, co-curricular activities and community conversations,” UNLV President Keith Whitfield said to the UNLV News Center.
“In places where there’s more diversity, I believe there’s better learning.”
A recent study from the Brookings Mountain Institute recognized that UNLV has increased its enrollment of in-state students in recent years, propelling a nationwide trend.
According to the report, students are leaving school with more student debt after paying heftier out-of-state costs. This leaves low-income students, particularly LatinX students, with increased roadblocks in their education and excess student loans.
In 2015, UNLV became the first four-year institution in Nevada to reach a LatinX enrollment of 25 percent, meeting the U.S. Department of Education’s definition of a Hispanic-Serving Institution. The university also meets Minority Serving Institution requirements as an Asian-American, Native-American Pacific-Islander-Serving Institution.
The report considers the combination of Black, Latinx, Native American, Asian-American, Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, white and multiracial students. The report does not include international students.
UNLV made it to the top 100 list among other universities for social mobility in this year’s report, which recognizes the university’s strength at enrolling economically disadvantaged students and graduating them into well-paying jobs.
