From Deficit to Strength: Reimagining the Underrepresented Student Lifecycle Through an Asset-Based Lens

This session will explore the application of asset-based perspectives from three different vantage points in higher education—recruitment, programming, and student support—with a focus on serving historically minoritized students. Faculty and staff from three diverse institutions will provide case study analysis of higher education administration that integrates asset-based theoretical frameworks. Participants will have the opportunity to assess the presence of deficit-based frameworks in their current approaches and consider the role asset-based perspectives may have in enhancing their efforts. The case studies presented by the panelists will demonstrate how to identify individual and collective strengths and use these as a foundation for planning and policy development. The panelists will share the ways in which new approaches were implemented, illuminate the barriers to change and how they were addressed, and report the impact of the approach on student success, well-being, and outcomes.