Nite and Day: Students' Divergent Experiences With Culturally Responsive Communication and Decision-Making Practices at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Predominately White Institutions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: Equitable Education Systems and the Pandemic: Organizational Perspectives

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented uncertainty as to how to postsecondary institutions make and communicate decisions. These challenges are exacerbated by the twin pandemics of racism and a public health crisis that have disproportionally affected people of color. This study explored how PWIs and HBCUs made and communicated decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of students of color. Data from this study showed that organizational responses to change and their subsequent communication at PWIs and HBCUs are varied and may be characterized by the influence of internal stakeholders, namely students. While scholarship has highlighted leadership challenges at HBCUs, this study acknowledges that HBCU leadership was more attuned to the needs of students than their PWI counterparts.

Authors

• Samantha Elizabeth Holquist, Child Trends

• Tameka Porter, American Institutes for Research