Recent national events have created much conversation. With landmark decisions announced by the Supreme Court on affirmative action and the legalities of student loan forgiveness, higher education is in the national spotlight and there is no shortage of opinions on the true impact of these decisions.
In our divided political climate, I would not be surprised if these changes are the topics of legal and policy discussions for months, if not years, to come. As leaders of community colleges, it is critical that we stay focused on the students we serve and preserve access to educational opportunity and success for all Americans.
Knowing that race-based admissions policies do not apply to our open-access institutions, I urge you to consider if access is enough. National data continue to show that categories of student populations are underserved by higher education. In the case of community colleges, we must continue to seek out why they are underserved so that we can better inform our planning, curriculum and student services. That work has been happening at community colleges across the country for years and is being woven into a rich culture of student success at your colleges.
This op-ed comes from the new issue of the Community College Journal, published by the American Association of Community Colleges.
It is the development of that culture that needs to continue across all of higher education. As a whole, higher education should remain committed to true equity in admissions and attainment for all students. More than that, we have to continue to identify and remove barriers to completion and success for every student if we are going to advance as a society.
In a statement on the Supreme Court decisions, I challenged all colleges and universities to intentionally and strategically break down the practices and programs that make up barriers and fully recognize how internal and external factors prevent students from attending and succeeding in higher education. We must continue to have the difficult conversations about policy, practice, implicit bias, historical contexts, societal pressures and political discourse in order to create an inclusive environment that supports students and our employees to be productive, engaged and successful.
I know that many of you are doing just that and will continue to be an example for all of higher education as well for the many communities that your college supports. I recognize that this work is complex and never-ending. But I also know that it is working, and I commend you for leading the way not just for community colleges, but for the nation.
