The Packback Blog

The Common Application Has Removed the Discipline Question Due to Racial Disparities. What Other Structural Barriers Stand in the Way of BIPOC Students?

The Common App recently decided to get rid of a question which asked students applying to college if they had been subject to disciplinary action in high school. Although the decision to get rid of the discriminatory question is a victory for inclusion and access in higher education, it raises an important follow-up question– what …

BIPOC Students and Bias in Higher Education: The necessity of unlearning biases to optimize outcomes for BIPOC students

The realities of bias against Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students in our nation’s predominantly White colleges and universities are hidden in the ways we have been taught to give feedback and to regard race in the classroom. This article explores how this bias harms the way that BIPOC students are able to …