Experts say that making students’ federal financial aid conditional on “satisfactory academic progress” punishes students who have the fewest resources to help them complete their degree. State and federal lawmakers are working to create more student-friendly policies.
Diversity & Equity Archive
SAT score gaps reveal deeper inequality in education, opportunity
A New York Times story exploring students’ SAT results by income level shines a light on “the deep inequality at the heart of American education”—economic disparities that leave children from the most underserved neighborhoods without the tools they need to succeed.
Biden Administration offers guidance on building diverse college campuses
A new report from the Department of Education recommends ways states and highly selective colleges and universities can expand college access and affordability to increase racial and economic diversity.
Community colleges offer four-year programs as affordable pathways to bachelor’s degrees
California community colleges are offering bachelor’s degree programs that allow students to attend college closer to home at more affordable rates.
Georgetown University, Jesuits pledge $27M to foundation focused on educational advancement and racial healing for Descendant communities
The commitment to the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation, along with the September inauguration of Georgetown’s new Center for the Study of Slavery and Its Legacies, advance the university’s ongoing work to more deeply understand and respond to its own history and the continued legacies of enslavement.
New index ranks colleges based on their economic diversity
The New York Times has released data on trends in the enrollment of low-income students at top colleges across the country. While some selective colleges and universities have enrolled more economically disadvantaged students, others are backsliding.
Georgetown’s Gateway Exploration Program helps local high school students explore their dreams of becoming physicians
This summer, aspiring physicians from groups underrepresented in medicine participated in a six-week internship program that provides career exposure and research experience.
Report: Minority-Serving Institutions key source of economic mobility for low-income students
A new report finds that Minority-Serving Institutions offer a quick return on investment for low-income students by providing an education they can afford and focusing on completion, equity, and economic outcomes.
Why are so few students attending professors’ office hours?
Meeting with professors can boost a student’s academic performance and career readiness, but students are hesitant to show up. Professors are investigating the source of the problem and ways to promote this untapped opportunity to students who need it the most.
Unmet financial need a major barrier to higher education for low-income students, students of color
A new analysis reveals that most families struggle to cover college costs, with students from low-income households and underrepresented groups facing the largest gaps between what they can afford and how much they have to pay to attend college.
End of affirmative action not an excuse to end diversity efforts, Biden Administration says
The Departments of Education and Justice explained the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision to end race-conscious affirmative action and offered guidance on how U.S. colleges and universities can continue to diversify their campuses.
For Native American students, the end of race-conscious admissions is followed by fear, uncertainty
Native American students face unique barriers to higher education. The end of race-conscious affirmative action threatens to increase those obstacles.