"Advancing Equity in Financial Aid for Black Students: A Document Analy" by Edwina Williams

Date of Award

2025-05-18

Degree Name

PhD Education for Social Justice

Dissertation Committee

Reyes Quezada, EdD, Chair; Elizabeth Butler, PhD, Member

Keywords

Black Student Success, Financial Aid Discourse, Financial Aid Equity, California Community Colleges, Student Equity Plans, Critical Race Hermeneutics, Race-Conscious Policy, Disproportionate Impact, Institutional Discourse Analysis

Abstract

This study examined how California Community Colleges (CCCs) constructed financial aid discourse in Student Equity Plans (SEPs) and assessed whether these strategies mitigated or perpetuated racial disparities for Black students. Previous scholarship identified racial inequities in financial aid systems and explored how equity planning documents addressed race; yet, the influence of institutional discourse on financial aid access remained underexamined. This study contributed to the literature by applying critical race hermeneutics (CRH) to examine how SEPs outlined financial aid strategies, with particular attention to the framing of work–study opportunities and the extent to which the SEP intended to employ race-conscious approaches.

A qualitative document analysis of 49 SEPs was conducted to evaluate whether financial aid language was race-neutral, race-conscious, or reflective of hegemonic whiteness. Guided by research questions that explored the racial framing of financial aid discourse, the study interrogated whether SEPs acknowledged structural barriers Black students faced and how financial aid strategies were constructed to address these inequities. Although many SEPs recognized that Black students experienced disproportionate impact (DI) in key metrics such as enrollment, persistence, transfer, and completion, they often failed to translate these findings into race-conscious financial aid strategies. Instead, colleges frequently defaulted to universal or race-neutral approaches that overlooked the specific structural barriers Black students have faced. This gap highlights the need for financial aid reform that not only acknowledges inequities but also incorporates race-conscious policies and targeted interventions to address them. Without such intentional efforts, the institutional acknowledgment of DI becomes performative rather than transformative.

Document Type

Dissertation: Open Access

Department

Learning and Teaching

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