Keys to Understanding the Importance of Equity in Higher Education
By Estela Mara Bensimon, Center for Urban Education, Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California
How do we define “equity in higher education?”
The phrase “equity in higher education” refers to creating opportunities for equal access and success in higher education among historically underrepresented student populations, such as ethnic minority and low-income students. Within the postsecondary education community, “equity” is further defined into three terms including: (1) representational equity, which refers to the proportional participation of historically underrepresented student populations at all levels of an institution; (2) resource equity, which takes account of the educational resources, when unequally distributed, that are directed at closing equity gaps; and (3) equity mindedness, which involves institutional leaders and staff demonstrating an awareness and a willingness to address equity issues.
Which student populations are most impacted by inequality issues?
All Americans—including those from diverse economic, ethnic, and social backgrounds—should benefit from a college education and thereby contribute to the nation’s economic competitiveness, social stability, and cultural richness. However, African Americans, Latina/os, and American Indians remain the highest student populations that are most likely not to attain a bachelor’s degree.
Why is accountability for equity outcomes in higher education so important?
Inequality in higher education is detrimental to everyone. It negatively impacts, both economically and socially, the entire nation in such matters as unemployment rates, welfare costs, voter turnout, income, and healthcare. Additionally, America continues to lag behind other countries when it comes to assuring the public of what its degrees mean in order to ensure a more secure position for its students in a global economy. The United States’ current “accountability” campaigns are challenged because they only quantify success through degree attainment, rather than utilize quality indicators such as race and ethnicity. These indicators would then help to prioritize and call attention to equity issues that deserve continuous support by policymakers, for example, who monitor accountability systems as an indicator to answer critical questions about educational outcomes.
Are institutions of higher education prepared to address equity issues?
Despite incorporating numerous diversity initiatives, most higher education systems have not met their aspirations for equitable outcomes. Diversity programs in higher education tend only to focus on enrollment data pertaining to African American, Latina/o, and American Indian students. To address equity issues, higher education systems should rather use broader data as a catalyst for change to create data-based solutions that help to close gaps in student success. On the other hand, it is important to recognize the nation’s more than 350 minority-serving institutions (MSIs)—Historically Black Colleges and Universities and predominantly Black institutions, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges and Universities—which continue to address the needs of low-income, ethnic minority students while contributing significantly to generating a highly skilled workforce.
Are there any federal, state, and/or local policy recommendations to help inequality in higher education?
There is a bit of challenge when it comes to gaining support from policymakers to begin incorporating equity into accountability systems, educational quality assessments, and evaluation processes. Some policymakers (and institutional leaders) are reluctant to adopting equity indicators such as race and ethnicity because they may seem inconsistent with the “color-blindness and equal treatment” model within today’s higher education systems. However, some important policy changes could be adopted to help address equity issues. Some policy recommendations include (1) establishing accountability practices for routine data collection, use, and reporting to continually monitor the status of educational opportunity and outcomes by racial-ethnic student groups and (2) allocating resources to develop systemic and institutional capacity to transform accountability from a system of data reporting into a system for organizational learning and successful change.
