Overview

A revealing account of the entrenched inequities that harm our most vulnerable students and what colleges can do to help them excel Elite colleges are boasting unprecedented numbers with respect to diversity, with some schools admitting their first majority-minority classes. But when the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and racial unrest gripped the world, schools scrambled to figure out what to do with the diversity they so fervently recruited. And disadvantaged students suffered. Class Dismissed exposes how woefully unprepared colleges were to support these students and shares their stories of how they were left to weather the storm alone and unprotected. Drawing on the firsthand experiences of students from all walks of life at elite colleges, Anthony Abraham Jack reveals the hidden and unequal worlds students navigated before and during the pandemic closures and upon their return to campus. He shows how COVID-19 exacerbated the very inequalities that universities ignored or failed to address long before campus closures. Jack examines how students dealt with the disruptions caused by the pandemic, how they navigated social unrest, and how they grappled with problems of race both on campus and off. A provocative and much-needed book, Class Dismissed paints an intimate and unflinchingly candid portrait of the challenges of undergraduate life for disadvantaged students even in elite schools that invest millions to diversify their student body. Moreover, Jack offers guidance on how to make students' path to graduation less treacherous-guidance colleges would be wise to follow.

Full Product Details

9780691237466

Table of Contents

Reviews

"""[S]obering, well supported, and trenchantly reported. . . . [A] compulsively readable, powerfully argued book. A stunning analysis of the effects of Covid-era campus closings on diverse student populations. "" * Kirkus, starred review *"

"""[S]obering, well supported, and trenchantly reported. . . . [A] compulsively readable, powerfully argued book. A stunning analysis of the effects of Covid-era campus closings on diverse student populations. "" * Kirkus, starred review * ""As [Jack] argues compellingly in Class Dismissed, if colleges are going to admit students from diverse racial, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds—and they should—there needs to be more attention paid and resources invested in ensuring that those students can fully thrive within the ivy-covered gates and beyond.""---Jonathan Wai, Science ""The narrative of Class Dismissed is really beautiful; it reads like a story.""---Elena van Stee, Contexts ""Thoughtful . . . . [Class Dismissed] asserts that universities could do more to recognize and work towards helping students of all racial and socioeconomic backgrounds while resolving the inequities among their students on campus. "" * Library Journal *"

Author Information

Anthony Abraham Jack is the inaugural faculty director of the Boston University Newbury Center and associate professor of higher education leadership at the Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Times Higher Education and on NPR and CNN. He is the author of The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available