Equity in the Online Space?

Abstract

As postsecondary institutions develop equity-minded approaches to improve minoritized and marginalized student retention and completion, most literature, case study, and discourse focuses on traditional, on ground, and/or residential schools and courses. More intentional and urgent focus must happen in the online space both in terms of institutional planning, practice, and strategy and in terms of individual/professional development. All individuals navigate systems using sets of ingrained, implicit, or cognitive biases. In postsecondary education, these biases impact student success. For any postsecondary institution with online course or program delivery, individual and organizational development opportunities must target these biases and create space for double-loop learning in order to achieve an equity-minded approach to organizational change.