Can COVID-19 Help Us Build a More Inclusive Postsecondary System?

The pandemic has exposed pre-existing fault lines rooted in systemic racism and discrimination; underlined the persistence and pervasiveness of associated barriers; and had a notable negative impact on vulnerable students’ academic success and general sense of belonging. Research so far has revealed the disproportionate negative effects of the pandemic on both post-secondary students and racialized groups. There is no doubt, then, that racialized students are paying a heavy price. Given that the reverberations of this ongoing pandemic will continue well into the future, further research is needed on the experiences of racialized post-secondary students to understand pandemic-related impacts and inequities in more depth.

The existing disconnect between diversity and educational excellence prevents post-secondary institutions from adequately supporting diverse and differentially prepared students to succeed. More than ever, attention must be paid to marginalized students’ intersecting identities, socio-economic status and access needs, academic engagement and success. Consequently, post-secondary institutions must adopt responsive strategies to meet the needs of racialized students.

The imminent question is, what can post-secondary institutions do to mitigate the harms caused by deficits in real inclusion for racialized, Indigenous and Black students? Such problem-solving must not just happen as a short-term COVID response; rather, this inflection point in history should be taken as an opportunity to make sustainable, systemic transformations.