#HigherEdIsHow

Higher education should provide an opportunity for a better living and a better life. But that opportunity has not always been available to everyone, and today deep racial and socioeconomic inequities in college access remain. While progress has been made and many policies and practices seek to break down barriers, the data show we still have further to go.
The college students of today include recent high school graduates, adults going back to school, students transferring from other schools, or veterans with years of military service. Many are raising families, most are working at least one job, some are studying while incarcerated or re-entering after serving time.
In other words, the idea of a “traditional” student is long outdated, as is the notion that prestige means exclusion. Today’s students have more varied backgrounds, journeys, barriers, and goals than those the system of higher education was originally set up to serve.
In this video, hear IHEP Research Analyst Genevieve Garcia Kendrick explain how critically important it is to ensure access to populations who have been historically excluded from higher education.
Our shared future is the why. Higher education is the how. View our research and advocacy efforts at ihep.org and join the conversation on Twitter #HigherEdIsHow, and contribute to our mission at www.ihep.org/support-our-mission/