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Equity
As Every Learner Everywhere and Intentional Futures write in their 2021 resource Getting Started With Equity: A Guide for Academic Department Leaders, 2020 “saw civil unrest, protest, acts of state-sanctioned violence, natural and manmade calamity, and the exponential growth of the wealth gap. That year brought increased awareness about the continued disregard for Black life… In higher education, racially minoritized students were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 precisely because poverty is a comorbidity for most diseases and illnesses, and racially minoritized people are disproportionately impacted by poverty.”
Achieving an equitable higher education system, one where systemic inequities are proactively addressed, is critical to student success. Although the terms are often confused, equity and equality are not interchangeable. Equality is when everyone, regardless of their need, is given the same thing while equity entails giving everyone what is needed to achieve equitable ends. Equitable higher educational practices seek to provide all students, but especially racially-minoritized and poverty-affected students, the tools to successfully attain their higher education goals.
Digital learning, with its focus on leveraging technology to expand educational access, can play a critical role in educational equity. As a part of our historical mission of expanding educational access and opportunity, WCET values equity and strives for inclusivity and diversity. We believe that this commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion enables our members to better serve their students and expand access to high-quality digital learning educational opportunities to all students, especially racially minoritized students and students from other historically underserved communities.
WCET Resources
WCET Events
Digital Divide 2.1: Improving Access for All Learners
28
Apr 2023
In this month’s Closer Conversation, we will discuss what members are doing to improve access to digital learning for all learners. Attendees will discuss: Strategies for narrowing the digital divide. Lessons learned post-pandemic. Innovative student-centered solutions. Broadband efforts. Registration...
Designing Inclusive Classrooms: Where to Start?
29
Jun 2022
This webcast was hosted in partnership with Wiley University Services. As higher ed continues to focus on ways to increase equity within our learning communities, one area in which we find challenges is within the coursework and classrooms themselves....
A WCET Closer Conversation: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Digital Learning
27
Aug 2021
The last year has been filled with racial protests and a new realization that America still suffers from a considerable digital divide. Colleges and universities across the United States are grappling with how to improve equity, diversity, and inclusion...
The “DETA” Behind Inclusive EdTech Practices: A Research Review from DETA and WCET
20
May 2021
WCET partnered with the National Research Center for Distance Education and Technological Advancements (DETA) to conduct a review of equity-focused research in digital learning. This compilation, Research Review: Educational Technologies and Their Impact on Student Success for Racial and...
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Digital Learning
09
Dec 2020
This webinar was hosted in partnership with Every Learner Everywhere. Educational opportunity and economic success are intertwined, and a college degree enables students to accomplish their career goals and aspirations. Yet, as a society, we must confront the fact...
WCET 32nd Annual Meeting
06
Oct 2020
Featuring synchronous and asynchronous sessions, the two-part Seminar Series of topic-focused virtual discussions and experiences brought together higher education community members, practitioners, and experts. Each seminar included strategic work group collaborations. The 2020 Seminar Series topics: October 6-15, on...
Narrowing the Digital Divide: Pragmatic and Student-Centered Approaches
15
Sep 2020
The digital divide became a wider abyss for many students as institutions moved to remote learning in Spring 2020 in the midst of COVID-19. Internet deserts are seeing the potential for broadband connectivity diminish as localities face dire budget implications and national efforts seem idle. Beyond connectivity, access to devices and technology have become a roadblock to...