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Welcome to The EDU Ledger! We’ve moved from Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.

Section: Opinion

African-American

Are HBCUs Ready for an Increase in Enrollment?

Since 2016, about 40 of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the nation saw an increase in applications and enrollments including Grambling State University, Dillard University, Howard University, and Shaw University.

August 17, 2020

No Longer Participating in Our Own Oppression

Every day, institutions of higher education ask marginalized people to participate in their own oppression. Maybe it’s time we stop. We are asked to represent diversity, but we are not given meaningful seats at the tables of power. We are told to meet (or exceed) the same metrics as our straight White male colleagues, but, even when we do, the institution betrays us.

August 13, 2020

Taking a Holistic Approach to College Admissions

If traditional standardized tests are not an objective measure of academic potential, admissions officers must seek other measures. But beyond transcripts, recommendations, and essays, how can they consider a student from another country and evaluate whether they would be a good fit for a particular campus?

August 11, 2020

African-American

“What Do You Call a Black Man with a Ph.D.?”

Malcolm X once famously asked, “What do you call a Black man with a PhD?” Years before I earned my doctorate, my mother and father migrated from Haiti in search of the American dream and running water. Today, I have chosen to raise my family in the States and in some ways, fulfilled the vision of my God-fearing parents.

August 10, 2020

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Denying that Racism Exists is Not Only Delusional . . . it’s Racist

While the public execution of George Floyd is beyond tragic, it is imperative to note that the protests and outrage are not solely due to this isolated occurrence. It is a response to 400 years of unaddressed oppression within this nation. It is a boiling point for society that was inevitable.

August 7, 2020

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A Window for Change: 2020 Highlights Challenge to Fragile Community Residents

Americans love stories about unlikely heroes. We love to watch or read about individuals who flourish from humble beginnings, overcoming great odds.

August 7, 2020

Harry-L-Williams

Transitioning to Online Learning

The spring of 2020 will not be the semester that goes down in history as an example of higher education at its best. In mid-March, the novel coronavirus forced colleges and universities to pivot from in-person course delivery and traditional on-campus experiences and thrust them into a modality of remote instruction.

August 5, 2020

Laura Otten, Director Nonprofit Center LaSalle University

African-American

The Murder of George Floyd Serves as a Defining Moment in U.S. History

The murder of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25th shook America to her very foundations. Corporations, businesses, professional athletes, executives, and people from various races and backgrounds could not sit back and ignore or dismiss Mr. Floyd’s homicide. The murder serves as an exclamation point, or a significant defining moment, in the history of the United States.

August 5, 2020

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Online Anti-Oppressive Orientation During COVID-19

With the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down physical college campuses in the spring, many institutions are planning to continue their fall semester in an online setting. In May 2020, we restructured a previously in-person program to an asynchronous and synchronous anti-oppressive orientation program entitled, Power, Privilege and Positionality (PPP) to address recent national uprisings at the intersection of COVID-19.

August 3, 2020

Closing University Child Care Centers Hurts Both Student Parents and Future Educators

Across the country, early childhood care and education programs have been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most closed in March, and though some are reopening as they are allowed by states, it’s expected that many will never reopen. These programs were financially precarious before the pandemic, and after months of closures and now with new regulations around cleaning and social distancing, it’s tough to make the numbers add up.

July 31, 2020

Supporting International Students in Time of Coronavirus: Looking Beyond Immigration Concerns

The higher education community went into a collective uproar following the ICE guidelines that would have deported international students whose universities go to an entirely online format. Many on social media and in news outlets were writing about the topic. Colleges and universities joined a collective lawsuit against the federal government. And it looked like the pressure worked – the guidelines were rescinded.

July 30, 2020

Community Colleges

Roueche Center Forum: Diversifying the Undergraduate Engineering Education Pathway – An Opportunity for the Community College

Vision 2030, a recently released report from the National Science Board (NSB), is the latest in a plethora of warnings that the American way of life is threatened because we are in danger of falling behind in STEM, the disciplines that have powered American prosperity for decades. The current COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the power and […]

July 29, 2020

Dr. Irving Pressley McPhail

Points to Consider for Running a Virtual Orientation Program

While institutions across the nation continue to finalize their Fall opening plans, many of them have opted-in for a virtual orientation program.

July 29, 2020

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Abolish the Term “Student-Athlete”

As higher education embraces social justice and abandons oppressive language and symbols, universities should banish one more offensive term.

July 29, 2020

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International Diverse Universities in the Midst of a Global Pandemic

When we began our Ford Foundation grant, “Women and University Leadership in Post-Conflict and Transitional Societies” in 2015, we could not envision addressing the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, particularly on universities and women leaders. Nor would we have anticipated reading about a Kenyan woman who wept, while she boiled rocks for her children, […]

July 28, 2020

Beverly Lindsay, for St. Mary’s College in San Antonio, TX. Photographed at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. [photo copyright Matthew Rakola]

Three Tips for First-Generation Graduate Students Navigating Education During the Pandemic

There has been a lot of focus on how higher education institutions are dealing with the pandemic. Will classes be online in the Fall? How will the rigor of courses be maintained? Will there be budget cuts? How will the postsecondary model of education focus on the impact on students? Most of these conversations have focused on undergraduate students, faculty, and staff. One population that is often overlooked is the graduate student population. Who can they turn to for resources in this uncertain time?

July 27, 2020

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Community Colleges

As Higher Education Faces a “Corona Swirl” of Transfer Students, Higher Education Must Create Clear Pathways to Degrees

Recent surveys show that a growing number of high school graduates and college students are opting to attend community colleges this fall because they are affordable and closer to home. Those who lost jobs in the post-COVID economy are also turning to community colleges to gain and sharpen skills that lead back to jobs. The combination is creating an unprecedented level of student movement between two- and four-year colleges. There’s even a name for it in higher education circles – the “corona swirl.”

July 24, 2020

African-American

Advancing The Work After The News Is No Longer Breaking

For days following the death of George Floyd, I fell silent. I wanted to speak using my social media platforms, but I was speechless. I was asked to post, respond, write a note to students, apply hashtags to my name, and join in a moment of silence, among other initiatives. However, I knew the death of George Floyd could not encompass the same temporary and emotional responses as so many other Black males who lost their lives at the hands of a system designed to honor and protect citizens of this nation.

July 22, 2020