Student Heterogeneity and Diversity at Catholic Colleges

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine structural diversity at Catholic colleges; more specifically, the variation in the student body diversity characteristics of a sample of freshman students matriculated at Catholic colleges. For the purpose of this article, diversity characteristics include background characteristics associated with student learning and democratic outcomes. Results suggest that Catholic college students are more diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, parental education, and family income than private college students in general. In addition, when disaggregated by institutional selectivity, significant differences among the student populations emerged suggesting students at less selective Catholic colleges are more diverse than those at highly selective Catholic colleges.