Abstract
This is a study about the phenomena of implicit racial bias (IRB) in higher education, as it relates to a student conduct disciplinary system at a 4-year public university, a system that requires that student conduct cases be handled in a fair, just, and expedient manner. Given the automaticity and pervasiveness of IRB, this study examines how IRB held by student conduct professionals may negatively influence the outcome of student conduct cases, how the process itself and its regulatory landscape has allowed for this practice to continue, and what can be done to prevent and mitigate its impact on students of color, particularly Black students. The following questions guided the study: How can IRB be identified and diagnosed in a university disciplinary system? What is the association between IRB, the hearing officers, and conduct case outcomes? What has been the experience with IRB in other fields of study besides higher education such as Health, Criminal Justice, Housing, and K-12 Education? Three methods to identify IRB were used in this study: Checking for significant disparities in the handling of cases on account of race, using case vignettes to observe behaviors indicative of IRB, and using the results of a reaction-time instrument (The Implicit Association Test) to assess racial bias that is automatically activated. The site selected was the Student Conduct Office in a public university where the researcher had the most knowledge and in-depth understanding of its conduct procedures and practices. A review of the office’s caseload for two years (2016-2018)revealed evidence suggestive of disparate treatment on account of race. Subjects who reacted to a set of case vignettes designed by the researcher and took the Implicit Association Test also displayed implicit racial bias.