1. Socioeconomic Equity in Honors Education: Increasing Numbers of First-Generation and Low-Income Students
- Author
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Mead, Angela D.
- Abstract
By expanding admissions processes to carefully consider students from first-generation and low-income backgrounds, honors programs and colleges not only increase the diversity of their programs and add richness and depth to their classes, but they also make a significant difference in the individual lives of the students who enroll. Recruiting such students and reviewing applications takes more time, but it pays dividends to honors as well as, most importantly, to individual students. Providing these students with the opportunity for an honors education allows them the opportunity to move into careers with higher income expectation and greater social mobility. Colleges must be able to determine which students are first-generation or low-income; adjust their admissions practices; and consider challenges that these students face. An admissions process that takes into account a student's background--including all the variables that can affect their test scores, grade point average, class rank, and résume--should result in more first-generation and low-income college students receiving an invitation to join an honors program or college. A thoughtful, cohesive honors curriculum, an engaged honors community, academic advising and mentoring, and support from honors faculty and staff can provide an academic home for these diverse students where they can go to find answers to questions they may not yet know they have.
- Published
- 2018