66. Build support for cultural and identity centers that serve underrepresented college students.[i]

Campus Climate 09.6.24

Here’s what the federal government can do:

  • Congress should appropriate funding for programs that strengthen cultural and identity centers serving underrepresented college students, including students of color, first-generation students, and students with lower incomes.
  • The U.S. Department of Education should collect, conduct, and disseminate research on access to cultural and identity centers and their impact on the college completion of underrepresented students.
  • The U.S. Department of Education should collect, conduct, and disseminate research on the funding that higher education institutions provide to support racial and ethnic cultural centers and student organizations.
  • The U.S. Department of Education should provide guidance on best practices for programs offered through identity and cultural centers that serve underrepresented students.

Here’s what state government can do:

  • State legislatures should support higher education institutions in establishing cultural and identity centers for underrepresented college students, including students of color, first-generation students, and students with lower incomes. State legislatures should provide permanent and substantial funding for this purpose.
  • Higher education coordinating agencies should provide higher education institutions with guidance on best practices for cultural and identity centers.

Here’s what institutional leaders can do:

  • Higher education institutions should establish cultural and identity centers for traditionally underrepresented students.
  • Higher education institutions should strengthen the practices of their cultural and identity centers by gathering the input of students of color, first-generation students, and students with lower incomes. Higher education institutions should appropriately compensate students who provide input.

Cultural and identity centers often serve as central hubs for peer advising, tutoring, mentorship, and leadership development among underrepresented students. Establishing cultural and identity centers is one of many critical steps to advancing students’ sense of belonging and building institution-wide structures to support underrepresented students. In a national survey of undergraduate students, 58 percent of students believed that affinity groups or cultural spaces where students can connect with peers contributed towards a positive campus climate for underrepresented students.[ii]

[i]As described in the note provided in the introduction of this resource, DEIA programs and race-conscious policies generally vary in their terms and scope; most programs and services, as well as the recommendations offered in this document, are lawful under federal statutory and constitutional laws. Readers are encouraged to consult with their attorneys for legal advice to understand the rights and obligations of students, faculty, administrators, and greater society. Additional information about the ongoing legality of developing curricula and engaging in activities that promote racially inclusive academic communities can be found in the Race and School Programming guidance published by the Office for Civil Rights on August 24, 2023 and available at https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-20230824.pdf.

[ii]Parnell, Amelia; Wesaw, Alexis Wesaw, Wesley Chamberlain, Alexa; & Dunlap, Jill. “Advancing Racial Justice on Campus, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education,” https://naspa.org/files/dmfile/Advancing-Racial-Justice-on-Campus.pdf.