Affirmative Action

Slowly Enabling the Disabled: Universities in Brazil and other countries are working harder to accommodate handicaps, but many challenges remain
Lloyd, Marion. (2006, August 11). The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Mr. do Bofim is one of several dozen disabled students—in a total enrollment of 25,000—admitted to Rio under the state's new system, up from an average of one or two each year before the quotas, administrators say. The system is among broader efforts in Latin America to improve living conditions for disabled people, who for centuries have suffered discrimination or simply been ignored. Those efforts vary widely by country. And while most Latin American nations define disability broadly as any mental or physical impairment, many do not guarantee any access to education for the mentally handicapped or those with mental illness.
- Website: http://chronicle.com/weekly/v52/i49/49a03501.htm (Full text available to paid subscribers only)

Affirmative Action in Higher Education in India and the US: A Study in Contrasts.
Gupta, Asha. (June 2006) Center for Studies in Higher Education, UC Berkeley.
The following paper makes an attempt to understand the nuances of a caste-based reservation policy in higher education in light of recent controversies, court verdicts, a subsequent amendment to the constitution in India; and affirmative action policies, court verdicts, and alternatives to affirmative action in certain universities in the US. The objective is to bring out commonalities and contrasts between the two countries in terms of legal, political, socio-cultural, economic, and psychological perspectives.
- Website: http://cshe.berkeley.edu/publications/publications.php?id=227

Brazil Takes Affirmative Action in HE
Universities in Brazil have begun introducing affirmative action programmes to combat accusations that the national higher education system is elitist and discriminatory.
- Website: http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/worldwide/story/0,9959,1012157,00.html

In Pursuit of Equality of Equity: Change in South African Higher Education. Reitumetse Obakeng Mabokela, Ph.D.
Dr. Mabokela is an Assoc. Professor at Michigan State University. This paper examines processes, some voluntary, others mandated by the government that various South African institutions have implemented to address vestiges of past discrimination. As a direct result of apartheid policies women and Blacks have historically been under-represented and continue to be under-represented in the higher education sector.
-Website: http://aasn.iuperj.br/Articles/Reitumetse_Mabokela.pdf

Bold Steps Needed To Save Affirmative Action. Malegapuru Makgoba. Sunday Times. 03/03/2005/
Makgoba is Vice-Chancellor of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. His editorial addresses the need to reexamine affirmative action in South Africa.
- Website: http://www.careerjunction.co.za/.../nwsvuw.asp?let=B&sch=2&rec=201

Affirmative Action and Diversity: The Beginning of the End? Or the End of the Beginning? Mark Killenbeck, May 2004. An ETS Policy Information Center Publication.
- Website: http://www.ets.org/research/pic/pir.html

Equity

Elitism and Equality in Chinese Higher Education.
Huang, Lihong. (2005). IIE Stockholm.
The study finds that the patterns of socio-economic factors influencing student upward mobility in present-day China are different from those of ancient China and from those previous Communist leaders attempted to achieve only 20 years ago.
- Website:http://www.interped.su.se/publications/lihongthesis.pdf

Suppporting Equity in Higher Education- A Report to the Minister for Education and Science. May 2003.
Educational reforms over recent decades have resulted in very substantial increases in participation in post-compulsory Educational reforms over recent decades have resulted in very substantial increases in participation in post-compulsory education. Here in Ireland, and across the OECD, the expansion of educational opportunities has resulted in much greater gender equality in educational attainment but large disparities remain in terms of the socio-economic, cultural, ethnic and racial background of learners. The worrying tendency for educational disadvantage to cluster in specific schools/areas and to be reproduced across generations raises serious equity issues and highlights the need for effective educational interventions. This paper contains an appendix with data about financial support for students at the tertiary level in many developing countries.
- Website:http://www.education.ie/servlet/blobservlet/he_supporting_equity.pdf

Equality & Education
The Equality & Education Project examines the causes of inequality in our schools, analyzes reform proposals, and offers new possibilities to policymakers concerned with the future of education in America.
- Website: http://www.equaleducation.org/feature.asp?menuid={66D83E1C-6148-426E-AD65-FAAAB909C4E7}

Left Behind: Unequal Opportunity in Higher Education Richard D. Kahlenberg, The Century Foundation. 2004.
In spite of the 1965 Higher Education Act's goal of ensuring college education to students of all income levels, low-income students still suffer from low college enrollment rates, low degree completion rates, and underrepresentation in selective colleges. As the Higher Education Act nears reauthorization, senior fellow Rick Kahlenberg urges a reevaluation of admissions and financial aid practices, with an eye towards increasing the representation of low-income students in colleges.
- PDF: Left Behind

Equity and Disability Policy in Australia
Higher education providers receiving support from the Australian government are responsible under the Higher Education Support Act 2003 for ensuring equity of access. Supporting equity is an integral part of their general operations. The Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) provides additional support to universities for equity purposes, such as the Higher Education Equity Support Program (ESP) and the Higher Education Disability Support Program (DSP). These programs are administered by the Equity Unit in DEST’s Higher Education Group. This website hosts reports and statistics that assess participation of indigenous population, disabled students, and different socio-economic groups.
- Website: http://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/.../special_needs_disadvantage/default.htm

Pathways to College Network
Launched in 2001, the Pathways to College Network is an alliance of 38 national organizations and funders committed to advancing college access and success for underserved students, including those who are the first generation in their families to go to college, low-income students, underrepresented minorities, and students with disabilities. Pathways emphasizes connecting policymakers, education leaders and practitioners, and community leaders with research on effective strategies for improving college preparation, enrollment, and degree completion. In 2004, Pathways published A Shared Agenda: A Leadership Challenge to Improve College Access and Success, summarizing research-based effective policies and practices drawn from over 650 studies.
- Website: http://www.ecs.org/html/offsite.asp?document=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Epathwaystocollege%2Enet

National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good
The National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good is committed to significantly increase awareness, understanding, commitment, and action relative to the public service role of higher education in the United States.
- Website: http://www.thenationalforum.org/

Equitable Distribution of Financial Subsidies

Who is Enrolled in (Free) Public Universities in Argentina
This article (in Spanish) summarizes a study of the economic profile of students in free public universities. In PDF format. It was published in the Boletin Digital, available at www.iesalc.unesco.org.ve

The International Higher Education Market: Mexico's Case
Eduardo Andere. Journal of Studies in International Education, Vol. 8, No. 1, 56-85
This report studies scholarships awarded by CONACYT (Mexican National Science and Technology Agency) and Fulbright and concludes that the population that benefits did not need this support.
- PDF: Mexico's Case