The topic of racial diversity continues to be a widely discussed subject at APU and across the nation.
APU’s Chair of Higher Education Laurie Schreiner, Ph.D., recently published an article for the Christian Higher Education journal on the pathways to success for students of color in Christian colleges. Schreiner said that one of her primary philosophies is that any college student can find success and thrive if in the right environment.
“My work on thriving is what I study across all groups of students, which is not just how you graduate or get a good grade, but rather, how you live a good life,” Schreiner said.
One of the biggest challenges that students of color have faced in the higher education system is graduating. According to Schreiner, only about 35 to 40 percent of Latino, Native American and African-American students get a degree, which has been consistent for the last 30 years. However, colleges in America will have to make a quick adjustment nationwide, as it is estimated that 80 percent of new students in the next 10 years are going to be students of color or those with low income.
Richard Martinez, APU’s executive director for the Center of Diversity, Equity & Inclusive Excellence, said that he believes there are many challenges in society that have led to this result.
“It’s not just a higher education challenge,” Martinez said. “It’s an educational challenge, and it starts with K-12 education. I am not blaming K-12, but we have a structural challenge in our educational system [and] in our society that has perpetuated some inequities in the education system. The inequities still reside, for the [most] part, with the students of unrepresented backgrounds.”
Schreiner said she believes that higher education should be held responsible for helping students succeed, and if they have failed to do so, then they did not do their job.
“There are all kinds of factors to this,” Schreiner said. “Some researchers would say to look at the academic preparation coming from poor high schools, or point to the struggles of first-generation college students. A lot of research tends to [indicate] that it’s your background before coming to college, but I don’t believe that is it. Colleges and universities have to take this responsibility.
“My research has shown that when a student is thriving in their experience, it doesn’t matter [what] their race or ethnicity [is],” Schreiner added. “It doesn’t matter if they’re first generation [or what] their family income is. They succeed at the same rate if we can create experiences to help them thrive.”
Allison Ash, associate dean of student care and services at Wheaton College in Illinois, coauthored the article with Schreiner. She was a student of Schreiner’s and is currently working on obtaining her Ph.D. from APU. Ash said that she has always been very passionate about this subject, and that she believes people must examine the educational institution before examining the students.
“We’re examining the institutions themselves about this issue, not just the students,” Ash said. “I feel that there’s been a lot of research on students, saying that they’re struggling or [that] there are different graduation rates, but we haven’t always turned the conversation toward what the institutions are doing or not doing, and if it is helping the problem or contributing to the problem.”
Schreiner calls APU and other Christian colleges a “white evangelical environment,” and considers it likely that the experience is different for students who were raised differently. She said that students’ spirituality looks unique depending on their cultural background.
“What makes it different at a Christian college is that we are committed to faith integration and the spiritual development of our students,” Schreiner said. “That’s a huge part of who we are. So, if spirituality is a pathway to thriving, we may think that we’ve got it made because we’re a Christian college, but the truth is that we don’t.”
Ash believes that higher education institutions should not only include diverse student populations, but faculty and staff as well.
“Opportunities for students of color to have academic influence with faculty is huge,” Ash said. “I think that’s an important step moving forward, and part of this also includes increasing our racial diversity among faculty. Having that diversity between students and staff is pretty critical to students being able to find those mentors and create a relationship.”
Both Schreiner and Ash are optimistic about the diversity within Christian colleges such as APU.
“I don’t have this all figured out,” Schreiner said. “I am on this journey trying to be the person God has called me to be. I see my role calling students, faculty and staff to embody what the Kingdom of God looks like.”