Abstract
This chapter explores the benefits of involving students in institutional decision making. The authors describe an action research project conducted at a public institution that involved a working group of students, faculty, and administrators researching and cocreating solutions to develop a more inclusive and equitable environment for learning and student development. The university gained direct insight from the students' viewpoints, and students earned course credit while gaining skills in research methods, leadership, communication, negotiation, and writing. The collaborative, cocurricular experience resulted in the development of a center for cross-cultural engagement on campus. The authors also discuss considerations for this model. Institutions must demonstrate a firm commitment to addressing the issues they investigate by providing sufficient resources and recognizing the labor inherent in the transformative leadership of the community members who work to create institutional change.
TopInstitution Of Higher Education Program Context
This case study took place in 2013 at a public institution in the southeast region of the United States, which was founded in the mid-1800s. As one of many institutions founded to preserve a sense of southern identity that was rooted in the institution of slavery, the institution enrolled its first known African American student over 110 years after its founding—under great duress. The university’s history of racially exclusive enrollment practices perpetuated educational inequities in the state, which persist to the present (Edney, 2019). With a student body of over 16,000 students, the percentage of African American students at the institution trailed the percentage of African Americans in the state by over 20%. Graduation rates for African Americans at the institution fell over 25 percentage points below White students’ graduation rate and over 21 percentage points below the university average. In addition to these disparate completion and success outcomes, the institutional climate was also a concern. Data from the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) Diverse Learning Environments Survey (DLE), administered in Fall 2013, revealed:
Key Terms in this Chapter
Counter-Storytelling: The sharing of underrepresented groups’ experiences and perspectives.
Institutional Responsibility: The concept of ownership as it relates to the school’s relationship to issues that arise on campus.
Student Development: The academic, personal, and professional growth of students that occurs due to the intentional integration of extra-/cocurricular and academic learning opportunities.
High-Impact Practice: Teaching and learning practices that contribute to a student’s comprehensive understanding of a topic and their overall growth through practical application and experience.
Equity Decision Making: The process of considering relevant factors that contribute to a resolution through a lens of fairness to all involved and impacted.
Cultural Wealth: The intangible toolkit of knowledge and skills that people of color possess to survive in various oppressive spaces.
Student Activism: The organization and/or demonstration by students to enact change at an institution.
Racial Tension: Occurrences of hostile behavior or incident(s) toward a person or group based on race or ethnicity.
Critical Race Methodology: A transdisciplinary approach to research methods through the lens of various -isms in connection with people of color.