As drivers of social mobility, higher education institutions play a pivotal role in addressing societal inequity. While equity in student success has become a core focus in higher education in recent years, the effects of the pandemic along with renewed outrage over racial injustice has higher education leaders rightfully asking, “what can we do?”
COVID-19 will likely intensify equity gaps across all stages of the education continuum—including college readiness, enrollment, and completion. Facing a global pandemic and economic downturn, there is no better, or more urgent, time for higher ed leaders to critically evaluate the policies and practices they have in place that fail to support college enrollment, retention, and post-graduate success for historically underserved student groups.
Understanding the impending equity gap “explosion”18%
Of K-12 students do not have broadband internet access, and 17% of students lack access to computers at home
Black and Latinx Americans are facing higher rates of COVID-19 infection and COVID-related job loss
55%
As a result of the pandemic, low-income students at one university were 55% more likely to delay graduation than higher-income students
The student body that will return to your institution—whether virtually or in person—will be very different from the one that left your campus in the spring. Students will have experienced learning loss, especially those without reliable technology access or those who experienced new demands at home like work and family care. Many are facing new or worsened mental health challenges. The financial crisis threatens students’ ability to continue their education and their job prospects upon graduation. And many students will be directly…