University of Mississippi graduates celebrate their achievement during commencement. The university is committed to helping every student achieve their goals. Photo by Thomas Graning/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
Proposed division aims to align resources to enhance student opportunity and achievement
University of Mississippi Staff Report
After a yearlong internal review, the University of Mississippi will create a Division of Access, Opportunity and Community Engagement and close its Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, pending approval by the state Institutions of Higher Learning board of trustees.
The core mission of the university is to provide access to post-secondary degree programs, leading to greater opportunities and improved quality of life for the people of Mississippi and beyond.
Decades of experience has shown that students who lack the benefit of pre-college programs and services need more support in college to advance and graduate. This division will align programs and resources designed to enhance educational access and student success.
“We are proud of our access mission that gives all qualified Mississippi students the opportunity to earn a college degree,” Chancellor Glenn Boyce said. “This proposed division will help students navigate the college experience and keep pace with their peers to persist and graduate.
“By focusing resources to help all students be successful, this will make us a better university.”
This move is designed in part to address a growing problem for Mississippi: a steady decline in the number of the state’s high school graduates enrolling in higher education. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the state is already feeling the effects of the “enrollment cliff” expected to reduce the number of high school graduates nationally over the next several years.
In Mississippi, the number of high school graduates has declined steadily in recent years, and a smaller percentage of those graduates are enrolling in a Mississippi institution of higher education.
The number of Mississippi high school graduates has declined almost 9% since 2017-18, according to data from the Mississippi Department of Education.
Department data also shows that the percentage of students who graduated from high school and enrolled in a Mississippi two- or four-year college or university declined from 67.1% in 2017-18 to 60.5% in 2022-23.
These trends show why the university seeks to do more to promote student success. Through a range of programs and services, the division will work with students to strengthen a sense of community, enrich learning and development, enhance research and ensure opportunities for all..
The proposed division will comprise three areas: Access and Community Engagement, Access and Opportunity, and Access and Compliance. It will bring together several university offices and functions, including Equal Opportunity and Regulatory Compliance, Student Disability Services and Digital Accessibility.
“By integrating and aligning our efforts across new departments and functional areas, we are poised to strengthen our engagement, compliance, efficiency and support systems,” said Shawnboda Mead, who will serve as vice chancellor over the division.
“The mission for our division will enable us to better address the unique needs of our community and ensure that every individual has the support they need to thrive. This will enhance pathways for success, opportunity and achievement.”
One way in which the division will support students is through opportunities for low-income Mississippi families, such as Ole Miss Opportunity. Also known as OMO, the initiative is a guarantee that eligible lower-income Mississippi residents will receive financial aid to cover the cost of tuition, residence hall housing and an allowance for meals.
The OMO guarantee fills any gap in funding after a student’s federal, state, institutional and private scholarships and grants have been considered. The division will work with OMO students to help them find campus resources and dedicated support needed to persist and graduate.
“Through the division’s focus on student success, the University of Mississippi is adding another layer in support of the state’s Ascent to 55% initiative to grow postsecondary attainment of the state’s workforce,” said Noel Wilkin, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. “This commitment will prepare more Mississippians to develop the skills they need to build fulfilling careers and lives.”
The division represents a continued investment in economic and community development in Mississippi. This includes fostering community partnerships and volunteer opportunities.
Additionally, the division fulfills the university’s mission of connecting scholarly learning, research and service to how we prepare students as future community leaders.
“As the flagship university of Mississippi, our driving purpose is to provide pathways to excellence for as many Mississippi students as we can,” Boyce said. “This shift will enable us to focus on what matters most, helping more students cross the graduation stage, which is our No. 1 goal for every student who enrolls at our university.”
