Why is This Program Needed?
The University Pathways Program is designed to help Black students succeed in the post-secondary academic world. It was developed to help address the significant under-representation of Black students in Canadian university enrolment, including business schools.
There are barriers in policies, procedures and practices that impede Black students from being able to fully access post-secondary opportunities. To address this, the engagement of students and families needs to start early in high school.
The University Pathways Program is currently designed for Black students in grades 11 and 12 in the Greater Toronto Area to help create pathways to post-secondary education. This includes gaining an understanding of the university experience from Black undergraduate students, and learning about pre-requisites and requirements for programs so high school students have time, experiential learning opportunities, and supports to prepare for post-secondary education. The Program also has significant financial support options to lower the financial barrier to post-secondary education.
The Program is focused on Black high school students because they don’t apply for post-secondary education at the same rate as white students in Canada. Black students on average are less prepared for post-secondary education, but when those restraints are removed, they are more likely to be accepted to university. Gaining access to post-secondary education for Black students has been described as “structural obstacle course”. This program’s goal is to remove many of those obstacles.
Our efforts are consistent with the commitments made by each of our three universities in signing the Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education.
The program’s current scope is focused on providing opportunities to Black students, to ensure the program is manageable and that learnings can be developed before expanding its scale. All three participating universities have in-place additional supports, pathways and programs for other groups of equity-deserving students.
The experience of Black students in accessing post-secondary education
Scarborough Charter on Anti-Black Racism and Black Inclusion in Canadian Higher Education
Carl James, African Canadian Legal Clinic, Alliance of Black School Educators, Towards Race Equity in Education – Schooling of Black Students in the Greater Toronto Area, April 2017.
K. Robson, P. Ansef, R.S. Brown, R.C. George, Under-represented Students and the Transition to Post-Secondary Education, Canadian Journal of Higher Education, Volume 48, No. 1, 2018
Federation of Black Canadians – Access to Higher Education