"You Know You’re Being Harmful”: Transfer-Aspiring Students of Color Addressing and Strategizing for Racial Equity in Community Colleges

• In Event: Voices of Resistance and Resilience: Amplifying Equity and Empowerment for Students of Color in Higher Education

Abstract

This explanatory sequential mixed methods study examines interactional and institutional conditions (e.g., policies and practices) affecting racially and ethnically minoritized community college students during their transfer process to a university. Using a strategic racial equity lens, I analyze how students face a racialized transfer process shaped by institutional conditions. I use descriptive statistics to provide a detailed institutional profile of one community college, which reveal that transfer-intending students of color face racialized barriers across advising and classroom spaces. Qualitative interviews with students, staff, and instructors reveal and deepen understanding of the barriers to transfer, while also suggesting solutions for developing more equitable approaches to the transfer process.

Author

• Nicole B. Contreras-Garcia, Florida Atlantic University