There can be “no middle ground” when it comes to achieving equity in higher education.
That’s according to the latest report from Complete College America (CCA), a national advocacy group focused on closing racial, social, and economic institutional performance gaps and increasing college completion rates.
Dr. Yolanda Watson Spiva, president of Complete College America.
No Middle Ground: Advancing Equity Through Practice is not just a call to action. It also functions like a toolkit, offering advice to assess if an institution is actually serving the needs of its minoritized students and helping those with less achieve the same goals as their more privileged or resourced peers. The report offers guidance around language, understanding of equity, and actions institutions can take to address inequity, each fitted into four “pillars:” purpose, structure, momentum, and support.
These four pillars, said Spiva, “encapsulate the full student experience about applying and seeking information, through completion and applying for career.”
Addressing a student’s purpose means that students who come to college should do so because they want to, and institutions should help them create plans for their educational journey. Structure refers to guard rails the institution has in place to help students continue without encountering significant barriers. Momentum means removing noncredit bearing courses (like remedial math or English), providing corequisite education options, and acknowledging skills a student might already bring to the table from outside of academia. Support reminds institutional leaders that 60% of college students face a basic needs insecurity, and wraparound safety-nets like a food pantry or housing help can help keep those students on track to success.
Dr. Travis C. Smith, clinical assistant professor and program coordinator of student personnel in higher education at the University of Florida.
