Minorities in Higher Education : The Impact of Experiencing Discrimination, Institutional Belonging, and Campus and Racial Climate on Academic Achievement

Abstract

An individual's academic achievement is affected by various factors throughout his or her time in higher education. For students of color, the number of factors changes in relation to interactions with others both inside and outside of the classroom. A student of color's academic achievement is affected by various factors. These include campus climate, perceptions of discrimination, and a sense of institutional belonging. These are only three factors of many which affect how an individual perceives the actions happening around him or her during his or her time at an institution of higher education. I relate these factors to Kalamazoo College and the recent work focusing on students' experiences with diversity. Then I developed future implications such as fostering mentoring programs and counseling groups and the further growth of the campus community.