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 out-of-sight 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 the 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.
Anthony Abraham Jack is the inaugural faculty director of the Newbury Center and associate professor of higher education leadership at Boston University. His work has appeared in the New York Times, 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.
“Anthony Abraham Jack powerfully illuminates the aspects of the student experience that exist beyond the gloss of the university brochure, showing how inequality reverberates both on and off campus and providing readers with specific frameworks for what equitable university policies could look like. Class Dismissed should be mandatory reading at every college in the country—for students and administrators alike.”—Clint Smith, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How the Word Is Passed
“Anthony Abraham Jack exposes the deep-seated inequalities that plague higher education and our society, elevating the voices of the most vulnerable students and daring colleges not only to listen, but to learn and transform. Class Dismissed is exemplary.”—Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist
“A masterful book that illuminates the dark corners of college admission. Jack tells the stories of students who are used for brochures to show a diverse population and how they are failed and left without resources by the establishments that once welcomed them. Class Dismissed reveals how deep the roots of inequality are, describing what happens when the safety nets provided to those in poverty disappear.”—Stephanie Land, New York Times bestselling author of Maid and Class
“Anthony Abraham Jack convincingly details—through meticulous research and thoroughly engaging writing—the distance between institutions’ stated values to support their students and how it plays out in practice. Class Dismissed is critically important and should inspire leaders to think about what it takes to get a diverse population of students through college at least as much as they think about getting them to campus in the first place.”—Adam Harris, author of The State Must Provide
“Class Dismissed offers a profound examination of how lower-income college students often serve as the face of university diversity initiatives yet are left to grapple with hollow promises and superficial acknowledgments of their needs. Jack’s discerning analysis not only sheds light on these issues but also presents an opportunity for tangible change in addressing the stark disparities within our educational systems despite our rhetoric of equity.”—Bettina L. Love, author of Punished for Dreaming
“If you work in higher education, I promise this book will make you uncomfortable. It highlights the painful equity gaps that remain for the most marginalized students on campus. Admitting these students is wonderful, but Jack reminds us that without a fundamental shift in how we serve them, we may be causing more harm than good.”—Angel B. Pérez, CEO, National Association for College Admission Counseling
“Improving access to higher ed isn’t just about touting your latest enrollment numbers. It’s also about meeting students where they are, as Anthony Abraham Jack vividly illustrates in this deeply reported book. Through a combination of engaging storytelling and rich insights rooted in research, Jack helps higher ed leaders understand the inequities that shape their campuses, and more importantly, shows them how to create inclusive institutions where students feel a sense of belonging, and ultimately a purpose to their education.”—Jeffrey Selingo, New York Times bestselling author of Who Gets In and Why and cohost of the Future U. podcast
