Correction | October 23, 6:26 p.m. The original version of this story misquoted assistant provost James Capp. It has been updated to reflect his original wording.

Every year, universities are ranked by the diversity of their student body. And this year, FAU made the list of the nation’s most diverse schools in the nation.

The university placed 29 out of 296 universities for its racial diversity, according to U.S. News and World Report’s annual “Campus Ethnic Diversity” list. On a scale where 1 is the best number, FAU received a score of .69 on the list of both public and private universities. The closer the school’s ranking is to 1, the more diverse its student population is.  

FAU’s ranking places it ahead of Florida’s 12 public universities.

The closest school to FAU was the University of Central Florida, which ranked 66th with a score of .65. Out of Florida’s public schools, four didn’t make the list: Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida Polytechnic University, New College of Florida, and the University of North Florida.

The other six scored below FAU, with Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University placing last:

• University of South Florida (.63)
• University of Florida (.59)
• Florida State University (.52)
• University of West Florida (.51)
• Florida International University (.47)
• Florida A&M University (.19)

The report ranked FAU based off its 2017 undergraduate student body.

FAU doesn’t have diversity quotas, but “we continually review our admissions practices to ensure that we are not adversely impacting individuals from any particular racial or ethnic background, particularly students who are traditionally underrepresented in higher education,” Assistant Provost for Academic Operations and Planning James Capp said.

The University Press asked Andrea Guzman Oliver, associate vice president for Student Outreach and Diversity, if FAU has any policies in place regarding diversity on campus.

She responded, saying, “Campus-wide training and openness to student and faculty ideas are both influential to diversity on campus.”

Faculty and student organization advisers are required to undergo annual training on how to be inclusive to FAU’s population. This training is also constantly being updated, Oliver said, “to tailor to the changing student body.”

FAU also holds an annual, day-long conference where faculty and staff receive similar training.

Angelina Olivieri is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected].