College Diversity

Kwan Ho Ryan Chan

Lookholder
4 December 2016

What is Diversity?

Society is made up of people with their own background in terms of culture,

socioeconomic status, etc.

They all presents their own unique voice that no one can replace

Promoting diversity is the promotion of differences

Yet, certain people choose not to go to college because of their

socioeconomic position

Income Gap: Admission Barrier

Another example is the growing practice of need aware admissions, in

which the level of financial need a student has may be a factor in the decision
to admit him or her. This is not an uncommon practice in colleges and
universities and is increasingly used in some private schools. In a need-aware
environment, families with higher need are inherently at greater risk of not
being admitted, even when otherwise qualified, since the school is unable to
commit to the funding the student needs (Mitchell 28).

Students receive financial aid, but it does not fully cover

Colleges, especially pubic schools, are unable to fulfil the needs of a students

Both personal finance and tuition

Therefore, students have a lower chance of being admitted to college

Income Gap: Resources

A low-income family will be less likely to find the extra resources

needed to meet the gap than a high-income family might. This
leaves the low-income family less able to accept the admission
and aid offer and, thus, unlikely to enroll (Mitchell 28).

Other than tuition and personal finance, students need resources

for academic support

These costs are not considered in financial aid

Even if it is, colleges often fail to consider them

Therefore, low-income end up not enrolling

Income Gap: Work and School

To relief financial stress, some students work and study at the same time, but
jobs are often low-wage minimum wage jobs

But this slows down college graduation process, which may in turn increase
college costs

Or the other situation is students work and study full time.

Yet, students risk the chance of having a bad academic performance

Marxist Analysis for Income Gap

Academic Barrier: students are the proletariats who wants to improve their
socioeconomic position, and the school is like the bourgeoisie who fails to
fulfil the fundamental funding to provide education

Resources: students are perpetuating in their own class because they cannot
afford academic support, and hence remains to stay in their socioeconomic
class

Work and Study: students slow down their graduation time or receive a lower
grade to support their financial needs.

What to do to bring diversity to colleges

Education programs are main solutions to bring diversity to colleges

They provide support for students academically and financially

Aim to promote equal opportunity for all students

An equal starting point

Examples are scholarships, tutoring centers, etc.

Educational Programs: Financial Aid

TRiO programs nation-wide are federally funded by the U.S. Department of

Education. The TRIO program has been funded since 1976 with a mission to
serve low-income and first-generation students and students with disabilities
(Jehangir 35).

TRiO is an example of the US government promoting diversity in college, but

in school programs also provide financial needs to students.

This removes the financial barrier of tuition from low-income students and
serves a better incentive for students to go to college

Educational Programs: A Lived

Experience

Creating opportunities through which students are invited to construct

knowledge requires both a curriculum that speaks to their lived experiences
and a pedagogical approach that invites reflection, community building, and
trust. This type of space can also foster a stronger institutional connection
which translates into higher persistence for those students who are most at
risk of dropping out after their first-year of college (Jehangir 35-36).

Promoting students experience to reduce drop-outs

College drop-outs is often because they found income more appealing than
knowledge

Promoting a communal student life helps students create a sense of belonging

Functionalism for Educational Programs

Financial Aid: Providing financial help to low-income students attract more

students to attend college. Diversity is an equilibrium where all kinds of
differences are allowed.

A Lived Experience: student experience is an important part of college.

Without student experience, college students cannot create a community that
serves them a function in life outside of school. Social network that are built
through this community in turn stabilizes society.

Diversity Outcome: What does Diversity

do?

Building a diverse faculty in Educational Administration Programs contributes

to direct impact upon students and current faculty. Diversity within the
faculty impact students' self-analysis and can help to ensure that educational
administration preparation programs sufficiently prepare school leaders to
work in ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse settings (Quezada and
Louque 219).

Marxist Analysis: diversity promotes class consciousness. It helps students to

realize their socioeconomic position, so it gives them a better incentive to
reach for a better life.

Functionalist: diversity is part of culture, and culture helps stable society in

different ways. One is it gives people a sense of belonging.

Final Words

One Barrier of Diversity is that low-income young adults choose work over
college. They fail to see the potential that college brings to them.

But an important fact to remember is that Diversity can be overcame through

aids such as educational programs

Diversity is important, because it offers different voices from people with

different background. But it also serves a negative function, they let people
realize who they are and where they are at in society.

Words Cited

Turner, Caroline S. "Advancing Diversity In Higher Education."Journal Of Diversity In Higher

Education6.3 (2013): 155-157.PsycARTICLES. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.

Jehangir, Rashn. "Cultivating Voice: First-Generation Students Seek Full Academic Citizenship In
Multicultural Learning Communities."Innovative Higher Education34.1 (2009): 33-49.Academic Search
Premier. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.

Bowman, Nicholas A. "How Much Diversity Is Enough? The Curvilinear Relationship Between College
Diversity Interactions And First-Year Student Outcomes."Research In Higher Education54.8 (2013): 874894.Professional Development Collection. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.

MITCHELL, MARK. "Remove The Barriers To Socioeconomic Diversity."Independent School75.4 (2016):

24.MasterFILE Premier. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.

Stoessel, Katharina, et al. "Sociodemographic Diversity And Distance Education: Who Drops Out From
Academic Programs And Why?."Research In Higher Education56.3 (2015): 228-246.Professional
Development Collection. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.

Pyne, Kimberly B., and Darris R. Means. "Underrepresented And In/Visible: A Hispanic First-Generation
StudentS Narratives Of College."Journal Of Diversity In Higher Education6.3 (2013): 186198.PsycARTICLES. Web. 5 Dec. 2016.