The CLASS project is an educational research and policy study located at Princeton University and taking place at Emory University, Michigan State University, Portland State University, Princeton University, UCLA, and the University of Miami.

The initial set of questions focuses on student experiences and the consequences of those experiences. How are transformations in the demographic makeup of the young-adult population affecting students? Does a diverse educational environment help to shape students’ behaviors, attitudes, and perceptions? Are students engaged in these transformations or relatively distanced from them? How involved are students with members of other racial and ethnic groups? How satisfied are they with their diversity experiences? The University of Michigan has so far successfully argued that there is a compelling need for diversity in higher education. Can we quantify the educational benefits of diversity? Do students learn more about themselves and the world around them when working and studying in a racially diverse environment? Do they develop more tolerant attitudes if they are in contact with students whose racial and ethnic backgrounds are different from their own?

A second set of questions relates to what college and university administrators can do to improve outcomes for students. Is there a gap in students’ satisfaction with the academic and social aspects of their college experience? If so, what strategies are effective for bridging that gap? Are there steps that college officials can take to promote a more positive campus climate for all segments of the student body? What are the conditions under which diversity can succeed? What policies and programs are likely to be most effective in advancing the educational benefits of diversity? It no longer seems likely that it is sufficient to ensure diversity in admissions, but it is not yet clear what kind of sustained attention to these issues throughout students’ college careers will be most effective and useful.

To answer these questions, we began conducting surveys of freshmen and juniors at Emory University, Michigan State University, Portland State University, Princeton University, UCLA, and the University of Miami in the fall of 2004. We asked these students about their diversity experiences in high school and in college. In addition, we collected information about the diversity-related policies, programs, and procedures in place at each of the participating universities as well as summary data about students and resources at each university. In the fall of 2006, we began another round of surveys of those students who completed the survey in 2004. We are interested in determining how much of the variation in student outcomes can be explained by institutional practices, holding student characteristics and other things constant, in an effort to arrive at a set of “best practices” that college and university administrators can use to promote campus climate and the educational benefits of diversity.