ABSTRACT
This literature review concentrates on the problems of minority students in higher education, starting with their under-representation, the role of mentorship programs, the impact of academic programs that are specifically targeted to minority students, and ending with the barriers that prevent them from attaining quality education and set a strategy to eliminate those troubles. Through analysis of a wide variety of sources, among them professional articles and research reports, the core tenets of this study come into view. Structural inequality, socioeconomic disparity, and cultural barriers are behind the underrepresentation of minority students in higher education. Mentorship programs have given hope as they have demonstrated a positive outcome of keeping minority students in schools and encouraging their success, so tailored support initiatives may be a key. A system of academic programs meant for specific minority groups that could foster a sense of belonging through structured mentoring and holistic support would go a long way in soaring academic achievement rates. On top of these difficulties, some factors such as economic, cultural, and linguistic differences, discrimination, and insufficient support are also presenthese challenges must be tackled as part of the deal with a whole system of policy and practices that relate to equality and inclusivity in tertiary education. Through support and interventions, institutions can allocate more funds to ornamentation and infrastructure needed for minority students and contribute to broader societal goals of social justice and inclusion.
Introduction
Minority student programs and mentorship are some of the highlighters in the current discourse in contemporary higher education. The educational domains are aimed at supplying indispensable resources, infrastructure, and chances for underprivileged minority students to blaze their academic trail eventually. The programs frequently have specific curricula and individual advising, and they need resources, such as supplications and financial support, that could help overcome the existing systematic obstacles and gain academic success. Moreover, mentorship holds a strategic position within the educational journey of minority students through the provision of guidance, support, and advocacy (Inman, 2019). Teachers act as mentors, modeling correct behavior, giving advice, and speaking on students’ behalf. This makes the education process more accessible for academic challenges and critical skills to be developed and professional networks. Through the mentorship networks promoted, students learn more and can grow and excel in higher education through the educational programs designed.
The fact that the white race dominates the field of higher education for minority students is undoubtedly a significant hindrance to the principles of fairness, diversity, and declaration in such academic institutions (Lewis et al., 2021). While there has been progress in raising the percentage of higher education among all people, the groups of racial and ethnic minorities are still lagging behind the rest of the population in terms of enrollment, retention, and graduation rates. This under-representation of minority groups in the political sphere only reflects that society is about wider inequalities and structural barriers originating from historical discrimination, social injustices, and structural inequalities. Eliminating the deficiency in higher education institutions about making society fair is not only a potential social development; however, it also points to the fact that administering the resources of various skills and cultures that a society holds will lead to a more enriched academic environment (Bermúdez Figueroa et al., 2023). Through the implementation of a democratic environment and the establishment of equal opportunities for students from economically weaker sections, educational institutions can develop diverse academic communities, stimulate innovation, and progress knowledge production in the different spheres of human activities.
The research questions guiding this study are: What are the leading causes of minority students’ underrepresentation in higher education? How do mentoring programs affect minority students’ retention rates and academic success in higher education? Which mentoring programs and best practices work best to support minority students in higher education? What effect do academic programs designed with minority students in mind have on their sense of belonging and overall academic achievement? What possible obstacles and difficulties can minority students encounter while trying to enroll in and take advantage of academic and mentorship programs in higher education? These questions serve as the focal points for investigating the complex dynamics surrounding minority students’ experiences in higher education and the efficacy of support programs in addressing their unique needs and challenges.
Literature Review
Main Causes of Minority Underrepresentation
Minority students’ underrepresentation in higher education is multifaceted, affected by the context of history, systemic obstacles, sociocultural factors, and the provision of academic preparation and support programs. In the past, minorities, including Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and disempowered groups, were disappointed due to discriminative and segregated educational platforms. The apartheid, from slavery to Jim Crow laws to the insidious modern forms of discrimination, has been systematically through disadvantaged education for these marginalized communities (Vargas et al., 2023). Policies like segregation in schools and universities, discriminatory admission policies, and unbalanced funding for minorities-serving institutions are means which has led to difficulties in access to higher levels of education, and these old days of disfavor had a powerful echo of amplifying the manifestation of minority students in academia.
Moreover, the culture and society of the people also contribute a lot to minority students’ access to higher education in significant ways. The socioeconomic level, cultural norms, and available assistance are among the factors that affect the contribution of minority groups in education and aspirations in life (Ward et al., 2013). Moreover, the gap in socioeconomic factors only worsens education inequality as it prevents the least advantaged people from accessing educational opportunities such as quality education at the K-12 level, college preparation programs, and affordable college education. To illustrate, students of low-income groups without money may need help reaching higher education; for example, they will need more college preparation resources, standardized test preparation, and impartial application advice. Further, cultural values and beliefs influence the situation; the decision-making process becomes complicated for minority students becausebecause they consider education a very important part of their communities; men and women should play different roles in society and family responsibilities. Social and cultural factors interact and integrate with the system of inequalities, creating very complex obstacles for university enrollment and success for a minority group (Celeste et al., 2023).
Also, the accessibility of academic readiness and support levels can improve the presence of students from minorities and their achievement in higher education. This proves that the programs’ essential features and functionalities are extremely crucial for students from minorities in higher education. Academic plans designed to encourage minority students who are systematically underrepresented by using, for instance, pre-college enrichment programs, college readiness plans, and bridge programs play a crucial role in minimizing educational inequalities and widening the availability of college. These initiatives are usually designed for college-eligible minority students, and they aim to ensure them with academic assistance, guidance, counseling, and finances during the college application process, as well as help them succeed academically and stay in college until graduation. Duran (2016) demonstrates the crucial influence of mentorship over academic success for women of color in postsecondary education. As it turns out, mentorship encourages tenure rates, minority student retention, and recruitment and increases the overall success rate of minorities in academia. By way of instance, the outreach programs may aim at minority high school students from under-served communities, providing them with academic enrichment activities, college preparatory workshops, and mentoring of the college students as well as faculty members in the college to foster the empowerment among the students as well as equip them well enough to the higher-level education. On the same note, Markle et al. (2022) brought in the fact that underrepresented minority (URM) students have low retention and graduation rates in STEM, dwelling more on the need for mentoring networks to ensure that URM STEM students have guidance on how to navigate the challenges and achieve academic success. Such research results emphasize tackling structural issues, creating culturally attuned support mechanisms, and bringing in mentorship relationships, which contribute to GOE and fairness in education.
The undervaluing of the participation of minority students in higher education is a complicated issue connected to historical inequalities, systemic barriers, sociocultural factors, and the availability of academic preparation and support programs. This issue can only be resolved by a multi-level approach that would include the improvement of systemic inequalities, the development of inclusive policies and practices, and allocate necessary financial resources and concrete support services for minority students to permit them to participate in higher education equally with others (Ward et al., 2013). By defining the reasons for underperformance and implementing scientifically validated interventions, educational institutions can be headed toward making learning opportunities more equitable and covering every single student.
Effects of Mentoring Programs on Minority Students
Mentoring programs held at higher education are of great importance to minority students because they are directly connected with their choices of staying in studies, graduating, and achieving career and personal success, as well as their general emotional state. Grasping these effects is paramount in considering such institutions’ epistemological requirements and other peculiar problems faced by minority children. Mentoring programs are powerful factors in the retention and graduation levels of minority students in higher education settings (Deanna et al., 2022). Mentors become crucial elements in minorities’ academic pathways when they customize their support, advice, and resources for these students. The mentoring program gives students a better chance of succeeding and graduating with a degree. The research, as evidenced by the work done by Heager and Fresquez (2016), has shown that students from the minority groups who had participated in the mentored research programs had an increase in their GPAs, which were even higher than their peers. They have a similar rate of graduation as the rest of the students. Mentorship programs are likely instrumental in minimizing such obstacles as a supportive learning environment is boosted by mentorship interventions with students from minorities displaying higher levels of self-determination, persistence, and resilience. Through individual assistance and mentorship based on concepts of proper relations, minority students become more involved in their education, reaching the highest achievement in the process. Such students stay motivated in their studies, and as a result, they create a solid educational foundation, ultimately bringing tertiary retention and student completion rates.
Scholarships play a critical role in facilitating accessibility and academic success for minority groups all through higher education. Through mentorship networks, students have been provided with essential and useful professional contacts through which they get internship opportunities and career counseling. The mentor’s role is to become a model and an advocate who inspires students with the goal of school, choosing and climbing career pathways, and developing crucial skills they need to succeed in their future careers. Research like the one done by Brown et al. (2021) lays out the significance of having diversity in mentors. The diverse persons serve as a confidence booster and build self-efficacy for those from minorities. The mentors guide the mentees in tapping into their talents and individuality and catering to their personal mentoring and support needs. With the help of their mentors, students can thus overcome their hurdles, maximize their success academically, and achieve their goals in their chosen careers. Furthermore, the mentoring programs enrich academic achievements and enable minority students with the instruments, assistance, and confidence, engaging them in succeeding in the profession they like (Haeger & Fresquez, 2016). The professions’ long-term success and advancement will depend on these students.
Mentoring is one of the crucial components in best practices and methods that have a culturally relevant and socioemotional focus regarding minority students’ academic support at the university. Besides academic learning, mentors enable the creation of an environment for students to express difficulties, search for solutions, and have their problems validated. This degree of support is undoubtedly indispensable for many minority students who are already exposed to all sorts of specific difficulties related to self-identity and integration in majority-white universities. Duran (2016) stresses the importance of mentorship of women of color in college, demonstrating that scholars not only get tenure faster but also get this recognition more often and thus retain and recruit Latina and African American female students to the college. Culturally appropriate mentoring establishes and affirms students’ cultures, values, and history in educational setups, making them feel welcomed and well-supported. Through giving socio-emotional support based on cultural awareness and sensitivity, the mentors assist the minority students to overcome various intricacies of higher education and to build resilience; at the same time, they develop a positive self-concept that contributes to their overall well-being and academic performance.
In that context, culturally relevant mentoring ensures the cultural capital and social capital transfer that are crucial for success both at school and in career life. Similarly, mentors from the same ethnicity and background or with similar life experiences can give specific recommendations and advice and use social networks that fit the wishes and aims of the minority youth (Brown et al., 2021). This kind of mentorship not only improves the students’ sense of belonging and cultural recognition but, at the same time, provides them with the necessary expertise and strategies needed to successfully navigate through the different learning environments and society as a whole. Through the establishment of culturally relevant mentorship ties, the student body will become more accepting, and the minority students, who may have felt isolated before, will not only enjoy higher chances of academic success but will also develop a feeling of self-efficacy that will spill over to many aspects of their lives, not only in education.
Best Mentoring Programs and Practices
Holistic support models and programming for minority students in higher education include structured notification platforms, intersectionality and identity intersections, and holistic support. These strategies attempt to address complex issues and situations of minority students rig by giving them academic support, encouraging retention, and promoting holistic student development. Network support programs offer platforms where minority students can connect with people from different professions, such as scientists, alums, and students’ peers and lecturers. These networks would provide formal mentorship programs, workshops, and networking events to allow the mentors and mentees to interact, and they promote collaboration and support amongst participants. Markle et al. (2022) suggest the rise in the prominence of the network-based mentoring point of view because it involves embarking students in professional and peer mentoring, mentoring other students, and providing mentorship to more students. As an illustration, NSBE programs will activate mentoring networks that link minority engineering students with industry professionals, teachers, and alums academically, professionally, and personally throughout their educational years. Through the facilitation of sharing experiences and resources among mentors in structured clusters, minority students have avenues to access various viewpoints, opportunities, and support systems that broaden their academic and professional growth.
The key to changing the mentorship programs to account for the specifics of intersecting and overlapping identities for minority students lies in adopting the inclusive and cultural-specific approach to mentoring them. Knowing that many students have a multifaceted perspective, including that of marginalized groups, and may experience both advantages and disenfranchisement, mentors must see through a multicultural lens and take care of the circumstances of minority students. McClinton (2018) deemed adaptive mentorship models indispensable to considering students’ multiplicities and complexes. One type of training program being implemented, which incorporates intersectional perspectives, also considers factors like race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, disability, and immigration status when it comes to student-mentor matching. Through addressing and asserting the multiple layers of students’ identities, mentors create an inclusive mentoring environment that validates the student’s feelings, giving space for building cultural humility and thus giving room to the feeling of being empowered. Examples of intersectional mentoring programs offer people of color Queer People of Color Mentorship Program at LGBTQ+ resource centers and academics, which seek to tailor support to those who are LGBTQ+ students of color and women of color, respectively.
Holistic approaches are applied to providing comprehensive support, including academic services, outreach resources, and psychological and economic support. These strategies are based on the idea that students may have different needs that might influence their study; therefore, they may need academic guidance and counseling, financial aid, housing, health services, and other support services. Mentoring programs that provide systems of support integrating holistic approaches focus on the overall wellness and development of the students, ensuring that they also benefit from the services that not only concentrate on academics but care for non-academic barriers that may affect their success. Brown et al. (2021) explain that having diverse mentors assists minority students in developing their confidence and attaining self-efficacy. Firstly, schemes like the Center for Academic Retention and Enhancement (CARE) at Florida State University provide comprehensive supportive services of selective options for the first generation, minorities, low-income students, and other heterogeneous populations, which include academic coaching, peer mentoring, leadership development, and financial assistance, among others. Such programs can bring about a tangible change in the academic performance of minority students by employing a wrap-around support approach that incorporates academics, personal, and financial dimensions to help them realize even the most ambitious academic goals and persist in pursuing their degrees.
Consequently, it is crucial to note that the mentoring programs for minority students at the college level bring the solution to the multifaceted problems these students have. It is influenced by historically established systemic barriers, sociocultural determinants, and academic discrimination, which, in the end, are very often the source of minority underrepresentation in higher education. Moreover, networked mentoring systems, intersectional identity awareness, and comprehensive support programs have proved to be the strategies that have brought such a positive body change among these minority students. These programs create platforms for those students to receive individual support, counseling, and resources that help them overcome academic, social, and emotional difficulties. Eventually, students in the programs develop a sense of belonging, self-confidence, and academic success. Using mentorship relationships, increasing support services, and tailoring learning conditions for minority students, institutions can establish inclusive learning environments in which minority students will be empowered to survive and do an excellent job in their postsecondary education.
Effect of Academic Programs Designed for Minority Students.
Academic programs that are specifically designed for minority groups and facilitate belongingness on college campuses play a prominent role when it comes to the grades of these students and their whole being when in college. Studies on social networks and relationships by Dost and Mazzoli Smith (2023) highlight these networks’ role in generating this feeling of belongingness. Students genuinely enjoy positive communications and trust-based relationships that they build not only with peers but faculty members too; these definitely lead to an enhanced sense of connectedness to the university community. Furthermore, the measures that have been taken to ensure the learning environment is friendly and supportive, seeing that students have friendly interactions with employees and peers, also help improve their sense of belonging (Dost & Mazzoli Smith, 2023). This research proves that such academic programs are paramount for creating a college climate where several minority students feel at home and can thrive in the higher learning arena.
In addition, the research of Hansen, Palakal, and White (2023) has highlighted the significance of belonging to STEM in predicting the persistence of underrepresented students. In science and engineering, where people frequently experience feelings of loneliness and inappropriate exclusion, certainty might be essential for all. According to studies, the intellectual community and socially acceptable students will remain in school when they take care of and obtain social support from interventions of the institution. These students are competitive against the challenges that they will face in college and achieve their set goals (Hansen et al., 2023). This data underscores the importance of classrooms in building unity among minority students studying STEM disciplines. Because of this, the students have a college personal.
On the other hand, Johnson (2020) argues that the sense of belonging to a particular university is affected by specific features. For instance, first-generation and minority students enjoy a greater sense of belonging at two-year colleges. This shows that the institutional context and support system plays a major role in students’ attitudes toward being part of the academic institution. The initiative to enhance students’ feeling of belonging should consider the specific needs and distinctive situations of students from different educational settings through culturally relevant pedagogy, solid advising services, and a way of representing diverse faculty members; these are all done to create an inclusive campus atmosphere. As a result, support programs designed to empower cultural students contribute to the sensation of being welcome on their campuses, which is indispensable for their starting and finishing college and overall wellness.
Structured mentoring programs, intersectional and overlapping identity concerns, and holistic support designs tailored to the needs of minority students are the three elements that collectively play a critical role in the academic success of those groups. Dedicated mentoring networks act as channels students need to follow because they suit the guidance, support, and resources students are required to assimilate into higher education. A study by Markle et al. (2022) notably demonstrates the positive impacts of these networks on the academic, social, and career outcomes of underrepresented minority (URM) students venturing into STEM fields. Through connecting students to both professional and fellow mentoring programs, these networks provide information about academic questions and career options, empowering them to overcome any challenge and academically succeed.
On the other hand, intersecting and overlapping social identity factors often form a foundation for students’ academic experience and performance. According to Mcclinton (2018), traditional mentorship models do not consider all aspects of identity of minority students. They fail to recognize the problematic experiences minority students encounter, which are exceptional and unique. While it is correct that intersectional approaches by programs incorporate student identities and thus make all students feel valued and supported through interactions and encouragement, a multicultural approach goes beyond this and creates an inclusive environment where all students are welcome. This inclusive method not only leads to an increase in the sense of belonging but also impacts academic engagement and performance percentage among minority students.
Furthermore, by adopting holistic support approaches and imbedding within academic programs the other hand helps to provide comprehensive assistance to minority students, which responses to their academic, social and personal needs. According to Haeger and Fresquez (2016), two social and cultural factors that offer positive effects on student growth as well as academics are the mentoring of socioemotional and cultural aspects. ByBy providing custom programs that focus on examining these students’ cultural and individualistic grounds, the academic system can counter the challenges that minority students encounter while facilitating their academic success. On the other hand, holistic support initiatives integrate many services and treatments, such as academic advising, tutoring groups, and mental health assistance, to name but a few, which guarantee comprehensive guidance to students during their college years (Sarna et al., 2021).
To sum up, the combination of structured mentoring networks, intersectionality perspective, and holistic support programs for minority students within the academic institution provides a safe and supportive environment in which minority students can excel. Such programs cater to the distinctive needs and experiences of minority students, consequently making them excel academically, persist in their studies, and ultimately attain their academic goals (Brown et al., 2021). One of the principal contributions of academics to the growth and advancement of minority students’ situation at higher levels of education is to help each student build character and self-sufficiency through personalized mentoring, inclusive practices, and holistic student support services.
Minority students in higher education face multiple obstacles that prevent their enrollment in educational programs. The main objective of inclusion in the university during the last decade has been to provide equal access to students of different class and cultural backgrounds. Hence, the number of students who study at the university is increasing. While the focus on universal enrollment deals with prior barriers, it ignores the institutional barriers faced by minority students post-enrollment (Belando-Montoro et al., 2022). Even with the shift from the traditional enrollment pattern to a more inclusive one, they are subject to systemic factors that stem from economically, culturally, linguistically, and motivationally affected contexts. Institutional systems often relentlessly reproduce the inequalities by overlooking the various preferences of minority students,, hindering the active learning and retention of the school-goers in university life.
The critical point in solving minority students’ problems is the transformation of principles and policies of institutions to support inclusive learning fairness. It should go beyond making sure that they are accessible to universities to ensure more retention and participation rates, especially for vulnerable groups (Bowles & Brindle, 2017). These barriers are economic hardships, cultural incompatibilities, language difficulties, discrimination, shortage of mentorship, and family obligations (Belando-Montoro et al., 2022). These barriers bring to light the fact that there is a need for targeted interventions through offering vocational training, financial support, mentorship to non-natives, and family assistants that are tailored to the usual problems that minority students commonly go through.
The job of paying tuition and other financial hardships lie as major barriers to the registrations and stays of minority students in the universities. Inequalities in school funding and discretionary allocation of resources usually result in a lack of equal learning chances, especially with students from low-income as well as from minority backgrounds (Darling-Hammond, 2019). Meanwhile, disparities in higher education might be seen in their accessibility, degree rates, and later career paths, which enlarge the gaps (Bushnell, 2021). Limited financial resources, combined with inadequate familial support and lack of academic self-esteem, become a challenge to a college student’s better achievement (Falcon, 2015). This firmly shows that there is an enormous requirement for intensified target interventions on the primary causes of the educational discrepancies as well as the creation of an equitable avenue to access higher education.
A holistic solution to address the barriers of minority students should entail integrated strategies that encompass academic, socio-economic, and institutional factors. Programs geared towards instilling high school students with the college readiness skills, offering financial aid services, ensuring supportive families, and motivating them also to feel a sense of belonging are among the most critical ones that should go a long way to facilitate the enrollment and retention of the minority students (Falcon, 2015). Furthermore, institutional reforms in terms of resource allocation designed to be impartial, inclusive policy development, and policy development focusing on cultural responsiveness are the key elements required for creating the type of environments that are conducive as far as the academic success of minority students is concerned (Bushnell, 2021). By recognizing the multilayered obstacles to minority students’ enrollment in higher education, institutions can produce more equitable involvement and ambiance, hence creating a rich educational environment for all students.
Undergraduate students from smaller groups can have many difficulties when it comes to applying to and utilizing mentoring, which stops them from succeeding according to the faculty’s views or makes their time on campus more fulfilling. The main impediment here is that there are not enough, especially those created specifically for the individual cases of minority students (Leary et al., 2016). Many institutions already have in place their own mentorship programs. Still, the reality is that some of those may not be specifically designed to cater to the unique cultural, language, and socio-economic backgrounds of minority students. The cultural insensitivity and irrelevance of existing mentorship provisions can disengage minority students from active involvement with these programs, restricting them from accessing essential support and counsel (White-Lewis & al., 2022).
Furthermore, minority students could face hindrances such as the informing process and the outreach for mentorship (Thiem & Dasgupta, 2022). Even though minority students are supported by mentorship programs, some students of different minority groups may not be sufficiently apprised of the availability of these sources; this may be due to either lack of information about these programs, or the way they are running or accessing the sources of this information may be the problem among the groups that desperately looking for this kind of information and that usually live in the remote areas. Consequently, even with some mentorship programs in existence, the learning process involved in identifying and connecting with appropriate mentors may still pose a hindrance to students of minority backgrounds in accessing the full benefits of a mentorship program (Thiem & Dasgupta, 2022).
There is also a risk that minorities can encounter difficulties in finding role models who are willing to look beyond their own culture and experience and invest their time in inclusive mentoring. These mentorship ties are nurtured by trust, empathy, and relatable experiences, and students who are part of a minority group might find it challenging to create such a relationship with a mentor who is not aware of the challenges they encounter in the system and society (Ahern‐Dodson et al., 2020). The disparity of backgrounds and points of view causes a lack of effectiveness in these mentorship encounters. It limits how much minority students can benefit from such assistance to counter individual academic struggles, occupation choices, and personality development.
Furthermore, the systemic inequality within universities can serve as a conduit for perpetuating the differences in students’ having the opportunity for mentorship, especially minorities. Structural challenges like scarcity of resources, institutional discrimination, as well as inequitable allocation of support services could limit mostly minority students, hence making it difficult for them to access counseling and mentor programs as compared to the rest of the students. Address the systemic discrepancies means it requires a determined attempt to pull all institutional barriers, which promotes diversity and inclusion initiatives, and allocate the resources effectively to be able to embrace students of different origins and backgrounds with equitable access to mentors and support networks (McCallen et al., 2023).
Conclusion
Ultimately, the literature review provides valuable findings about the diverse challenges experienced by minority students in higher education. As a result of a thorough review of the existing research literature, several vital outcomes have been identified. In the first instance, the review spotlighted the deeply rooted causes of minority students’ low enrollment in higher education systems, particularly active in propagating the gaps between various socio-economic groups, cultures, and disparities in establishment structures. In this regard, the research outcomes point out that interventions directed at ending structural inequalities and creating an environment of equal opportunities for everyone are of capital importance, even if a student belongs to different sociocultural backgrounds.
In addition, the research outcomes have meaningful consequences for higher education practice and policy. The study finds that mentorship programs do instead expand minority students’ retention rates as well as their academic achievement, so they leave college. Consequently, schools and policymakers need to focus on designing and implementing mentorship programs responsive to the individual needs of different minority student categories. Moreover, it is necessary to create inclusive laws and regulation systems and focus on bringing up diversity problems by implementing programs that deal with them, namely student financial assistance, culturally relevant support services, and community engagement.
In the future, there are several important directions for further research. Long-term studies are preferable to determine the capability of mentorship and academic programs in college to advance minority students’ educational outcomes, such as their retention rate, the ratio of degree attainment, and their results after acquiring a degree. Moreover, the research should investigate breakthrough solutions to treating the long-standing barriers of enrolling in college and partaking in physical training, including giving information and resources, combating any subtle bias in admission procedure, and achieving a tolerant campus climate about diversity and acceptance.
The inclusion and meeting of the needs of minority students in college is critical for guaranteeing social justice and equality in society. By identifying the systemic barriers and the inequalities that hamper the favorable educational performance of minority students, we will realize a more sympathetic and equitable education environment where everybody is a winner. Not only do you see that minority students are becoming successful individuals, but this will also make our higher education institutions and society, in general, stronger and more diverse. Thus, we must not let it go out of focus, and instead, we must consistently continue to put in our efforts to sustain and give prominence to minority students in higher education.
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