The Role of Higher Education Institutions in Supporting Immigrant Background Students

• In Event: 21020 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 10: Education and the Labor Market

Abstract

Higher education has long been a way to achieve upward mobility in the US. Having a more educated population can also boost the economy given the association between a college degree and higher earnings; higher earning workers also contribute more in terms of taxes and spending. Considering that currently almost one third of all higher education students in the US are immigrants or children of immigrants, ensuring their access to higher education is crucial both for an equitable society as well as the US economy. Importantly, their share of the student population is rapidly increasing - in New York State, they make up almost half of all students (Batalova and Feldblum 2023). Given these trends, supporting immigrant background students’ access to college education and by extension to professional jobs matters if New York, as well as the US as a whole, will be able to fully capture the economic, social, and educational potential of immigrants.

Despite their significant and growing numbers of the student population, immigrant background students face numerous barriers in accessing higher education, and institutions also face barriers in supporting those students. Based on the literature and current practices and policies, I categorized higher education programs supporting immigrant background students into three models. Under the first, the access and right to education model, the major goal is making it possible for immigrants and refugees to enroll in college or other educational programs. Programs under the second model - the human capital and labor market model - focus on the immigrants and refugees’ potential as workers. Programs under the third model - the Holistic model - support immigrants and refugees beyond enrollment.

I offer analysis of these models and recommendations at the federal, state, and institutional levels towards fully developing the potential of immigrant, refugee, and undocumented populations in achieving their educational and professional aspirations.

Author

• Tsveta Dobreva, University at Albany, SUNY