Black Students, Technology and College Access: Challenges and Opportunities

I recently received one of the five Pullias Center Equity Alumni Awards. The award funded research for a report entitled Technology and College Access: Understanding the Unique Challenges and Opportunities Black Students Face. In the report, I highlight the ways in which technology has become a significant structural barrier to college access for Black youth. At the same time, Black youth are at the forefront of digital innovation. In the report, I provide recommendations for how high school and college leaders might leverage the potential of technology to meet Black students’ unique needs. 

Recommendations for K-20 educators and leaders 

• Focus on digital literacy specifically as it relates to college access. Teach students how to analyze information on college websites, and how to use reputable sources to fact-check information about college.

• Understand that there are limits to the college knowledge that can be cultivated online. Websites and social media provide general insight into college, but information about what different campuses offer specifically for Black students can be difficult to find online. K-20 leaders should help students find offline college support, including mentors with similar racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Recommendations for educators and policymakers 

• Address the structural barriers that contribute to the digital divide. People of color are more likely to live in areas that have fewer and more expensive Internet service options. Digital redlining also disproportionately impacts communities of color, meaning that some neighborhoods do not have the same access to fiber optic cables and other internet services that White communities do. While hotspots and other one on one interventions can expand technology access, structural change is also needed.

• Expand the federal e-rate program to increase home connectivity for students.

You can read the report here.