Supporting displaced students in US higher education: examining institutional policy and practice

Abstract

ABSTRACT Despite welcoming millions of displaced individuals over the past 50 years, there is limited policy consideration of US higher education access for displaced learners. This study threads together Critical Race Theory and racialized organization theory to examine institutional websites and key administrator interviews to consider institutional policies and practices centering on displaced learners – refugees, asylees, and Temporary Protected Status holders – in public higher education institutions in Houston, Texas, and Sacramento, California. The findings capture how the essentialization of marginalized populations – through a lack of engagement with displaced learners and limited data on displaced populations – obscures the unique needs of these individuals. Additionally, the findings point to how institutions work to center displaced students, despite policy voids. These findings expand the literature on displaced learner access to US higher education beyond students to focus on the role of institutions, providing a foundation for considering more equitable institutional policy and practice.