Columbia College

The college announced that its admissions process is "entirely test-free" and described the history of standardized testing in the following way: "The standardized tests that many colleges have come to rely on have a deep history of bias. This bias manifests itself in the separation between families who do and do not have access to tutoring and preparatory coaching for the exams, as well as in the content of the exams themselves. As a result, they have often served to exclude BIPOC and other underrepresented students from the professional opportunities and socioeconomic advancement afforded by higher education."

The "Columbia Core" curriculum is "required to fulfill general education requirements for all undergraduate students" and includes at least two courses (six credits) in diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

Regarding DEI in its curriculum, CC states the following: "One of our central foci in the area of DEI is enhancing our curriculum to challenge the hegemonic emphasis on canonical cultural and artistic traditions, which often result in a lack of diverse narratives. Along with our engagement with curriculum, we are committed to addressing issues of power and privilege in each of the disciplines we teach...."

The Diversity and Inclusion Award at CC was "established to encourage students to focus on the importance of diversity in higher education and in their experience at Columbia College Chicago specifically, while preparing them for life in a global society." Winners are awarded a scholarship of up to $4,000 to be used on their tuition expenses.

Oct 18, 2023, is the deadline for the NBCU Academy Grant which provides "direct student funding to students pursuing a degree in journalism, media studies, film and television studies, media-related technology or engineering, and related media fields..." The college's partnership with NBCU "reflects a shared commitment to diversity, equity, and inclsuion [sic], with NBCU Academy elevating the next generation of journalists and providing students from underrepresented communities a pipeline into news, broadcast media, and related media, information, and technology fields."

As part of its Spring 2024 DEI Programming Grants, CC's Office of Academic Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion "invites full and part-time faculty members and staff to apply for monetary grants up to $1000" in order to "support interdisciplinary collaborative public programming across the college."

Faculty, students, and staff will explore social justice issues through curriculum, special events, exhibitions and guest speakers.

The college announced a new "Social Justice Initiative" featuring ongoing intellectual collegewide discussions, as well as guest speakers and lecturers.

As part of its "The College Tour" series, Columbia College also included a video on "Anti-Racism." The description reads, "At Columbia, diversity and inclusion are more than just numbers and bragging points. Columbia is doing the work to take institutional action that acknowledges our nation’s racist history and works to repair the damage done by decades of bigotry and discrimination."

Ayo Walker is an Assistant Professor of Critical Dance Studies whose research interests include Critical Race Theory in Dance and Decolonizing Dance Pedagogy.

The mission of L.E.A.D. (Leadership, Equity, Access, and Diversity) is to "empower the Columbia student community with the resources and knowledge to become leaders in their respective communities while promoting diversity and equity across the campus community, Chicago's south loop and the surrounding community."

On February 7, 2023, CC News announced that the Office of Student Diversity and Inclusion organized the "Black Souls Welcome Installation" which is a "talent showcase made by and for Columbia's Black students and "highlights artists from varying mediums and backgrounds to portray the many facets of Black life."

In the Summer of 2023, the college's "Summer Social Justice Institute" took place and was comprised of two courses; "Topics in Creativity and Social Justice" and "Advanced Topics in Creativity and Social Justice."

College launched an “Anti-racism transformation team.”

CC states that it is "committed to an anti-racist campus that takes head-on the systemic issues of racial and other forms of discrimination that permeate the whole of our society."