Educating a Diverse Nation: Lessons from Minority-Serving Institutions

Abstract

EDUCATING A DIVERSE NATION: LESSONS FROM MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS CONRAD, C, AND M. GASMAN. 2015. CAMBRIDGE, MA: HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS. 289 PP.In Educating a Diverse Nation, Conrad and Gasman explore the best practices of Minority-Serving Institutions (ms is) in helping students learn and persist at the postsecondary level. The authors describe MS is as a relatively small number of colleges and universities that educate a large percentage of students of color and low-income students. They contend that while these institutions play a critical role in serving historically underrepresented students, they have "long been invisible across much of the landscape in higher education as well as in the literature on our colleges and universities" (p. 12).According to demographic trend data as reported by the U.S. Census, the United States continues to become an increasingly diverse nation. In fact, by 2050, racial and ethnic minorities are expected to account for more than half (52%) of the U.S. resident college-age population (U.S. Census 2009). Conrad and Gasman suggest that mainstream U.S. higher education institutions, or Predominantly White Institutions (pwis), are not culturally prepared to address the unique needs of this new majority-minority. Specifically, they state:Because many faculty members and staff in mainstream higher education know little about the history, challenges, strengths, and perspectives that traditionally underrepresented students bring to college, they expect all college students to assimilate into traditional higher education and adapt to the norms of the dominant culture, (p. 9)According to Conrad and Gasman, MS is increasingly have become a gateway to higher education for many underrepresented minority students. This is significant given the authors' observation of the relative indifference of PWls in meeting the needs of a diverse society.Study DesignThe goal of this three-year national study was to identify practices that enhance the learning and persistence of traditionally underserved and underrepresented students (10). Using a purposive approach, Conrad and Gasman identified twelve MS is that offer programs either to support diverse students or to contribute to their learning and persistence. The authors selected these twelve programs from 185 submissions by more than 160 MSls representing a wide variety of institutional types (eg., private, public, two year, four year) and geographic regions. Conrad and Gasman articulated four categories of MS is and conducted three in-depth case studies for each:* Tribal Colleges and Universities (tcus)* Hispanic-Serving Institutions (hsis)* Historically Black Colleges and Universities (hbcus)* Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (aanapisis)The authors describe the distinct cultural, historical, and contextual factors that influenced the establishment of these four types of institutions. Despite their differences, MS is reach out to diverse students and "meet students where they are" (p. 258) in similar ways. Conrad and Gasman acknowledge, however, that even successful MSI programs and practices are often hampered by insufficient funds-a problem that seems endemic.Tribal Colleges and UniversitiesThe authors state that there are currently 34 Tribal Colleges and Universities (tcus) in twelve states. In addition to offering accredited degree programs, TCUs frequently host cultural events and serve as centers for social services; many also function as business incubators for their local community. Conrad and Gasman describe TCUs as culturally responsive institutions that provide relevant degree programs to individuals who are often unprepared or underprepared for the rigors of college-level coursework.One faculty member noted that students who attend TCUs are frequently "'bruised by a system' that never 'cared about what they think' and has often been indifferent to their prior knowledge and experience" (p. …