2016 Annual Conference

Unconscious bias, we all have them. Not recognizing these biases comes with consequences on students. This presentation is expected to help higher education Institutions (HEIs) comprehend unconscious bias, and find how to lessen its effect, with specific reference to local and international students in colleges and universities in United States.

There has been expanding enthusiasm for the idea of unconscious bias and an expanding comprehension of the effect that it can have on students.Professors and facilitators have to recognize that everyone has a bias and acknowledging this fact will help reduce/curb the effects that these biases have on students (Herbert 2013). The targeted audience are professors and facilitators who serve adult learners in colleges or universities, and community colleges.

Acknowledgment of unconscious bias must not supplant an affirmation that unconscious bias and discrimination exist and keeps on being an issue in college and university environment. While the strategies for measuring and predicting unconscious biases may not be impeccable, there is little uncertainty that it does exist and furthermore can possibly influence our activities and classroom teaching and learning. Universities and colleges not just have an ethical obligation regarding their unconscious biases, however an ethical obligation; college and university professors should be productive and viable, and choices and actions should be made in view of confirmation and certainty, instead of generalizations and hunches.